Spartan Ops: Zero Requiem
by LockedhackerXIII
Summary: After the events of Zero Requiem, life for the Black Knights and Ashford Academy has returned to (what they consider) normal, but one day, after being called by Lloyd, a group consisting of Kallen, Jeremiah, C.C, Ogi and Suzaku are sent through a strange temporal disturbance, where they encounter Aliens, Dangerous Creatures, and maybe even an old friend... (M for Future Content)
1. Prologue: Arrival on Infinity

**(Author's Note: **I do hope my readers forgive me, I've not had the time to update many of my stories. I do hope to update them soon, but I'm still quite busy. Just one more story that I've followed through on. I hope you guys like it, Read and Review if possible, and there's plenty more to come from.**)****  
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**Prologue: Arrival on Infinity  
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FIVE MONTHS AFTER NEW PHOENIX INCIDENT

"Commander Palmer."

Leader of the Spartan Ops, Commander Sarah Palmer detested sitting in her office, so when she heard the tell-tale voice of Roland, Infinity's A.I, She sighed with relief. "Oh, thank God Roland. Tell me you have the list of the new Fireteams I ordered? I can't stand simply waiting while we have Marines getting sent down there one after another."

"Patience, Commander, I got them right here." Spoke the orange, holographic interface. "I understand your worry for them, but Captain Las-"

"Captain Lasky has ordered me to stand down until all Spartans have been cleared for deployment, I know." She said, slightly depressed. She leaned back in her chair and looked ahead at the monitor before her. The spinning, holographic symbol of the UNSC spun in the same clockwise turn as it always has. She typed a bit on the built-in keyboard of her desk, pulling up more of the data files on the new Fireteams that had been scheduled. "Dammit, I wish they'd at least send me down there…I hate paperwork…"

"Well, you're not the only one. 91.8% of humans detest it as well, so I suggest you find something to ease your discomfort." He said as he looked at the screen. Two blue files appeared side-by-side together as Sarah continued looking.

The two report details had different standings, and were both equally good. One team, Majestic, had enough of a good report to even be listed before her, but signs of Misbehavior and Bad luck followed them. The file stated that they

A second file, Crimson, listed almost exactly the same. They had endured plenty of trouble themselves, but better survival rates led to a stronger group altogether. They had a better rate of luck altogether as well as a lengthy service record. Perhaps these groups would serve as a replacement for Fireteam Vulture. She typed once more on her keyboard as she approved the documentation. "Roland, send these two files back, but keep a separate copy for me to review later."

"Can do, ma'am." Said the little man as the screen did so, the rest of the files disappearing, and the main background screen returning. "Oh, by the way," Said the A.I as he rocked back on the heels of his feet, looking at her. "The General's arrived for the Performance Review. Lasky wanted me to let you know.

"Jeez, they can manage Slipspace travel, but they can't make an automated review system." Complained the commander as she got up and stretched her arms. She currently wore the provided clothes; a simple gray shirt and pants with her name stitched in silver lining along both the pants and the chest. Nothing fancy, but the usual stuff. She'd like to wear her Spartan Armor again, but as she has no-where to go, she has it hung in a case directly by her window facing the planet's Gravity Well. Walking towards the door, she turns to look at it, the sleek Scout armor being her favorite choice. She hesitated about whether she should put it on again.

"Eh… Maybe later." Spoke the Commander as she left her room, hurrying to the Hangar Bay to greet the General.

* * *

"Attention flight crew in Hangar C, Pelican inbound for landing, repeat, Pelican inbound for landing."

Hangar C, one of the very few hangars with vacancies, had been recently cleared for the V.I.P. A few marines had been invited to attend, but most of the other scientists and marines had their own jobs to do at maintaining the ship. The doors opened as Sarah Palmer and Thomas Lasky entered to overview the sight of the Pelican entering through the Shield itself. Upon seeing this sight, Lasky hurried across the walkway towards the stairs that led to the main floor, Palmer in hot pursuit.

"Dammit, I can't believe he got here so soon," Said Lasky, speeding down the stairs. "I mean, Roland just gave the message to me."

"Don't worry," responded the Commander as she tripped on the last step and followed him to his place at the end of the line. "I just got it too." They both saluted and watched as the Pelican turned, the ship landing with the doors facing the inner-workings of the ship.

The Pelican's Bay doors opened with a hiss as the people inside were revealed. A small group of four soldiers occupied the Cabin. The soldiers each had their visors down and a magnum on their hip with a pair of Assault rifles ready. Two of them sat on either side of a man. His face was shrouded by the Gray UNSC Officers cap resting over his cranium, but his suit showed the designation of a High-ranking officer; a near perfect square of lines to show the various commendations he's earned. Lasky and Sarah stood at the ready as they waited on the Man's advancement. His stand and approach into the light of the Hangar, his four men in tow, revealed his young face and surprised both Commander Palmer and Captain Lasky. He must have been incredibly young, Eighteen at the least.

Lasky was the first to speak up about this. "Umm… General Lam-?"

Strands of Raven-black hair fell round the General's face as he glared at the two, his young, purple eyes giving them a slight surprise. "Yes, I'm General Lamperouge." Said the boy as he switched gazes between the two, being at near-equal height. "You were thinking I look older?" he asked, cocking an amused eyebrow.

Sarah stepped forward before Lasky could correct himself. "We thought that you would have more field experience, sir. We didn't expect someone so young."

"Well, be happy that I'm still at such an age." He said, taking out a Data-pad and scrolling downwards as he walked across the hangar floor to the stairs that led up to the doors. "Commander Palmer, Explain to me this: Why is it that you only have one team of Spartans at hand?"

Sarah mentally sighed, as she knew this was coming. "Sir, the Spartans that have been reviewed for this mission have been deemed ina-"

"Inadequate?" he says, turning to the commander and glaring at her with the intense strength of a Lion that wants its Gazelle. "Commander Palmer, the Spartan-IV program was intended to make Soldiers into Spartans. If the teams are not Spartan Material, then that means the program is failing." He said typing taking out a silver stylus and writing something into the data pad in his hands.

Lasky decided to interject at this point. "General Lamperouge, we've just sent request out for various teams of Spartans. The original team was to test out their endurance on Requiem and to see if they'd survive the various enemies it possesses."

The General paused as he looked at Lasky, taking into detail every letter that was spoken. "… Very well." He finally said as he walked up the stairs and headed into the inner hull of the ship. "Both of you must know that I am here for a proper performance review of Infinity's future success. I hope you won't disappoint me."

**(A.N: **And there you have it! First chap-well...Prologue, really, but there's plenty more where that came from. Just so you guys know, the time at which the events have happened are going to be told later. Review if possible, Constructive Criticism is helpful, but don't be rude. Anyways, check up on this story, because I'm definitely going to update it.**)**


	2. Chapter 1: A Sudden Return

**(A.N. **Alright everyone, here's the first true chapter of Spartan Ops: Zero Requiem. I decided to finish the first chapter today, so I hope you like it! Remember to read and review!**)**

**Ch. 1: A Sudden Return**

FIVE MONTHS AFTER ZERO REQUIEM

_Life is good._

Kallen Kozuki smiled as she fell backwards onto her bed this Tuesday evening. The past Five months had been rough on her, but after playing Catch-up with her school work, she'd just finished all of her work and had caught up with the others, grade wise. She was smart; she'd just spent so much time in her extracurricular activities that she had little time to catch up on school work. However, the year was almost over, and Graduation was two weeks away.

Yes, the girl had managed to pull through after the World War that was almost started. She glanced over to the corkboard by her bedside and saw the picture of the Student Council, everyone together and happy. She saw Milly, Rivalz, Nina, Shirley, Herself, Nunnally, and… Lelouch. It was such a nice time. That was all before the Black Knights had been formed, and Lelouch took the guise of the Terrorist, Zero. Taking this Alter-ego of his, he reined a vicious campaign against Britannia, the ruling empire at the time. He'd been her idol, her savior, her hope in this bleak world for Japan's freedom.

That was before she figured out that Lelouch was Zero. After learning of his identity of being a Britannian, the people whom she hated, she doubted whether she should follow him or not. She stuck through with him, keeping his identity secret until the rest of the Black Knights learned of him being not only a Britannian, but a Britannian Prince. After that, they turned on him, but somehow he still managed to gain control of the world. He became a Ruthless dictator, forcing other countries to join him or be annihilated. Sadly, what choice did they have?

There was a plan to stop him. She played a part in it. She tried to distract Suzaku, who believed he'd always been working for the greater good, while Schneizel, Lelouch's older brother, tried to unleash the F.L.E.I.J.A's, from a fort called Damocles, on various countries to control them out of fear. Sadly, Lelouch took the Damocles with help of his Geass, but before he could execute the Black Knights for Treason, well… He was killed. Suzaku, posing as Zero murdered him before the entire world.

It was only afterwards that she realized Lelouch's true plan; to focus all the world's hate on him and to give them a common enemy. Once he was… eliminated… Then the world was put at peace. The plan was utterly genius, but if only he would have focused the hate on something else. He did it all for her, too: For Nunnally. Such dedication to making the world a better place all for his sister was astounding. She leaned up and picked the photo from the board, scanning it a bit closely as she reminisced over the good times.

_Lelouch…Why do it for her... Why not for me instead? _ she thought to herself, placing a hand on her chest gently.

A Knock on her door disrupted her thinking back on the entire ordeal. She set the picture on her night-stand and paused as she thought who it would be. Her mother was out for the day at her new job, and she didn't order anything. Perhaps it was just Rivalz or Milly coming to say hello. "Be there in a second." She called. She walked up to the peephole and stuck an eye to the small entry-way to see who was outside.

Her heart skipped a beat at the sight. Slowly pulling away from the door, her eyes widened as she looked on in sheer memory of who was there at the door. Of all the people to come speak to her, why'd it have to be her? She slowly twisted the doorknob and pulled back the small apartment door to stare at the girl in front of her.

She'd changed her appearance various times throughout the years, and was now currently clothed in short black-ruffled Mini-skirt, a green Tank-top and a pair of High-heel shoes. A Purse of purple leather hung over her shoulder while her hair was done back in a low Ponytail tied back with a white ribbon. Although the real giveaway was the green hair and yellow eyes.

"C.C…" Spoke Kallen warily. "I… I didn't know you were still alive…"

"Hello, Kallen." Said the immortal witch to the Pilot. "It's been a while. May I come in?" she asked, plain and simple as she always was.

"Oh, umm, yeah, sure." She said, backing up, letting the woman stroll in. The way she walked, one might think she belonged in one of the Casinos. She walked past Kallen and took a seat in front of the Television, removing her heels and placing them beside her as she twisted up and curled on the couch. Kallen watched confused as the girl took the remote and just started watching Television.

"Umm… Are you just going to ignore me like that?"

"Mmhmm... "

At this response, Kallen sighed, suppressing her confusion on the subject and sat down in the chair, crossing her legs and looking at her. "Any reason that you're dressed like a Stripper?" she asked her blatantly, knowing that Sarcasm wasn't her strong point, deciding to head straight to the point.

"The same reason you're in your school uniform."

_Wait…does she mean… _

"C.C, don't tell me you got a job as a _Stripper!?"_ Exclaimed Kallen shocked as she stood up and looked at the girl now, slightly worried for the woman's safety.

"No…", came the word from the green-haired woman's mouth as she continued staring at the television.

Kallen paused and thought about what she said and why she was here and came to the following conclusion:

"I… Don't get it… Could you elaborate?"

"Simple," C.C turned to her while explaining. "You're not in school anymore, and you're still hanging around in your school uniform. Therefore, you either don't want to change clothes, or you like the clothes you have on." She said as Matter-of-factly as she could. "I find that a rude comment, by the way."

"That's," said Kallen, trying to prove her wrong, but finding nary a reason that she wasn't. Dejectedly she sat back down and looked at her. "So… What're you doing here?" she said, slightly nervous around the peculiar woman. It was true that in the Black Knights they had grown as friends, but C.C had followed Lelouch around more and served as his version of a "Secretary," keeping him in check. She hadn't been seen since the day Lelouch had been killed, and was assumed dead. As it turns out those rumors of her being immortal were true.

"I've finished travelling. I've been everywhere I want to go, done everything I want to do, and now I'm home. That's it for me, isn't it?" she said, turning to Kallen blankly.

The Red-head's expression took on the guise of surprise. "You've… travelled?"

"Yes."

Kallen blinked as she continued to look at her. "… Around the World?"

"Yes."

"… In five months?"

"Yes."

Kallen only blinked in slight surprise. "Is that it then? You travel around the whole world, visit different countries, come back here, plop down at my place and just do nothing?"

"That's the Idea, yes." She said, continuing to watch as the screen changed to Cartoons.

Not all that surprised anymore, Kallen only stood up and sighed as she walked to the Kitchen. "Alright then, who am I to argue with a witch?"

"Damn straight."

Kallen's eyes lifted to spy the usually quiet girl through the Kitchen counter window and they were again surprised at her words. "Pardon?"

"Damn straight… It's an expression I learned in the Middle-west. It means you're correct." She explained as technically as she could. "I've learned new Lingo as I've travelled." She said with a nod as the Television switched to the News network.

Kallen only sighed as she went back to rummaging through the refrigerator. "Well, if you've just gotten back, you must be hungry, right?" she asked her, pulling out a box and setting it down before rummaging some more. C.C stopped as her eyebrows lifted a bit as she smelled the air. "Pizza?" she said, turning to the box and standing up.

"Yeah, I have four leftover slices, so we can s-" as Kallen looked up from the fridge, she saw C.C with two slices of pizza per hand. A bite in each of them. The guilty girl only blinked in confusion. "…Share?" she asked, as she'd continue eating the cold Pizza.

"… You know what, Never mind, I can make my own food." Said the Guren pilot, causing C.C to smile as she sat back on the couch and went back to watching T.V

As soon as she sat down, the doorbell rang again. Kallen froze as she looked at C.C. _Shit! No-one can know she's here!_ She thought to herself worriedly before slowly walking over to the door and taking another peep through the peephole.

This next guest wasn't as surprising, but she was nonetheless a pain to deal with if she knew C.C was alive. She slowly opened the door just a crack to reveal the kind face and uniformed officer Cecile Croomy. "Hey there, Kallen." She said, waving a hand to her through the bit of door available to see her body.

"Ms. Croomy," smiled Kallen back to her. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" she said, lightly rubbing the back of her neck. Things had been awkward between them since Cecile sided with Lelouch, while she betrayed him, and although Cecile considered Kallen a good friend, Kallen still was a little nervous around her.

"It certainly has, but please call me Cecile." She said with a smile and a slightly embarrassed laugh. "I hate it when people call me Ms. Croomy. It makes me sound like an old woman."

"Okay, don't call you Ms. Croomy, Got it. Do you need anything else?" said the pilot, trying to hurry things along.

"Actually, yes, there is. May I come in?" she says taking a step forward.

"No-no, no, nooo." Hurried Kallen as she stood in front of the crack, bumping into Cecile and closing the door behind her.

"No?" asked Cecile curiously and slightly surprised about her reaction. "Why not? It'd be easier inside, wouldn't it?"

"I mean… well… You can't come in because… My house is a mess, huge mess, Mom's always so busy now, she doesn't have time to clean it, and I'm just so busy with schoolwork!" spoke the more than nervous pilot as she tried to lie about this subject.

"Oh, dear…" said Cecile as she looked at Kallen. "Always so busy, hmm?" Suddenly a look of horror and realization came to her face. "Oh, god… Is she using Refrain again?"

"_What?_ _NO, _no, no , no, no." said the girl assuredly, backing against the door. "She's as busy as I am with her new job and all, she has to get organized and all that stuff. Umm, what do you need her for, exactly?"

"Well, I was told to give this to her." She said, holding up a letter labeled for the Kozuki Family. Kallen noticed the symbol of the New United Federation of Nations where the stamp should be. "Do you think you could give it to her?"

Kallen blinked as she took the letter and looked at it. "Umm, yeah, sure." The Handwriting on the address was written sloppily, and seemed almost to have been written in a hurry. Whoever wrote it to her must have been in a hurry. "I'll… make sure she gets it." Responded the pilot as she looked at the woman.

"Great, thanks so much." Said Cecile as she turned on her heels and left without so much as another word.

Kallen watched the woman walk away and head into the elevator before returning back to the apartment. She looked at the letter thoughtfully as she headed to the Kitchen doorway and leaned on the mantle. _What ties does my mom have to the U.F.N? Who would send this to her?_

"Something wrong?" spoke the green-girl from her place on the couch. She was too lazy to turn her head, so she tilted it back on the Couch's arm and looked up at her from there. "You look confused."

"That's because I am… " Kallen paused and thought about it before the curiosity got the best of her. She headed over to the counter, grabbed a knife and began to open the letter.

_What could be so important concerning my Mother?_

When she pulled out the paper and looked at it, the same sloppy handwriting was there. She looked at the top and sighed as she realized who it was. "Of course, it'd be him."

"Who?" interrogated the witch.

"Lloyd. For Some reason he sent my mom… a letter." She said as she continued reading. Her eyes squinted as she tried to make sure she understood what was on the paper.

"Hmm? What is it?" asked the witch, now becoming curious as she stood up and approached the kitchen herself to see what she was reading.

"Lloyd… wants me to come to his office, at eight 'o clock Friday… It says he needs me for a trip out of country… He wants my mom to sign it and approve that I'm free to go."

"Interesting." Spoke the witch as she looked at the letter from beside Kallen's shoulder. "Maybe you should go."

"Well… I'm not sure if I should. I still have school to attend, and if I leave, well… Eh, who knows, I'll think about it tomorrow." Kallen sighed as she put the letter back and carried it with her back to her room. "I'm… going to bed. You can… sleep on the couch if you want."

"Thank you." Said C.C as she returned to her 'bed' for the night, watching Television as the Sunset gleamed through the closed blinds.

* * *

The Next Morning, Kallen sighed as she reached her school. She showed the letter to her mother the next morning, but her adamant "No" downed her spirits. She knew her mother wanted to make up for time she'd spent away from her, so the reasons were understandable, but Life had been slightly average, and she had the chance to get back into the game, but her mother denied that chance.

_I guess other opportunities will come along._ Thought the girl as she set her stuff down by her seat and decided to just wait for class to start.

"Hey, Kallen!"

Kallen heard that usually peppy voice and smiled as she waved to Rivalz. They'd become pretty good friends in the past few months and he'd helped her plenty of times with stuff neither of them understood. "Hey, Rivalz. How's that Math project coming along?" she asked him.

The blue-haired boy plopped down in the chair beside hers and began to talk to her. "Well… I'm still at Square one, as I've done absolutely nothing to progress… So it's going good." He said with a smirk. "How's your life going?"

"Well," Kallen said slightly hesitant. She was curious about whether or not she should tell him about the letter she got last night. It wouldn't really mean much now, would it? She wouldn't be going anyways. "I got a letter from Lloyd. He wants me to go on some scientific trip of his, but Mom won't let me go."

"Yeah, with the way your grades are, I'm surprised she lets you come to school without an escort!"

The punch on the shoulder that followed made Rivalz cry out slightly. "Hey, it was a joke! Jeez, can't you tell?"

"Yeah, well you know I've been working of my grades to make them better."

"Yeah. You've come a long way since… " he said, pausing as he recalled the events that occurred not five months ago.

"Since Lelouch died…" finished Kallen solemnly.

"Yeah… I miss him. It was always fun watching him play chess and messing with him."

It was true, most of the students missed Lelouch. It was true he was horrible as a Ruler, and some of them didn't mind him being dead. Those who were closest to him, such as the Student Council, knew that his death meant the loss of a close friend. Even through all his Tyranny, he was still that awkward genius they all knew and loved. "Yeah. I miss him too…" she said in a consoling manner, patting his shoulder.

"Miss Kozuki, you had me worried! I thought you'd missed my Letter!"

Kallen's eyes widened and she blushed as red as her hair when she heard the call and saw the scientist stroll into the room. Lloyd Asplund sighed as he walked over towards Kallen, that same eccentric smile on his face. "I'd been worried you wouldn't make it! I thought you'd be stuck doing something incredibly Banal and it seems I was right!"

"Lloyd… " said an embarrassed Kallen. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm making sure you don't miss the trip, of course! We've had to move up schedule, so let's go dear!" said Lloyd, reaching for her hand.

_*SMACK_*

Lloyd withdrew his hand as Cecile smacked it away and pointed at him angrily. "It's not polite to grab a Lady's hand like that!" she said, scolding Lloyd.

"But Cecile, we need her!" he said like a child who complains for not getting what he wants.

"Hang on, need me for what?" asked Kallen confusedly.

"Sorry, dear, but we need you right away. As Lloyd said, our schedule's been sped-up a little bit, so we need you to come with us right away." Said the assistant, placing her hands on the pilot's shoulders and leading her towards the door. "We need you for a-"

"A Scientific Trip, yeah, I remember the letter." She said as she was ushered away. "But I didn't have my Mom sign it, and I need to stay here and not lose my grades." She tried to explain to them.

"Oh don't worry, Miss Kozuki, she's already signed it and given it to us this morning." Corrected Cecile as she held up the letter for Kallen to look at and spy the signature of her mother. "Now, Let's just hurry up and leave, you have a long journey ahead of you!"

"Come on, dears!" said Lloyd as he hurried outside and walked down the hall. "There's no time to lose! It's off to the lab!" Cecile and Kallen followed Quickly as the door of the classroom was closed behind them.

When they were gone, nearly the entire class stared at where they'd left. The scene was quite humorous and made a few of them laugh. Rivalz was just as confused as anyone else in the room and raised an eyebrow. "What was all that about?"


	3. Chapter 2: Report, Fireteam Vulture!

**Chapter 2: Report, Fireteam Vulture!**

"Commander Palmer, These statistics I have here bother me, and I have a few questions."

General Lamperouge continued walking through the ship's halls, scrolling through the personal Data-pad of his. Commander Palmer followed close behind, making sure he had a proper tour of the facilities. The General was flanked by two of his guards from the Pelican, while the other two remained behind to stand guard. From the General's viewpoint, the entire system on Infinity seemed flawed. Commander Palmer wished she had something More to show him, but, as it turns out, a crew full of marines isn't impressive for someone looking for Spartan-IV progress.

"Go ahead, General, I'm your escort for the day, so ask away."

"Firstly," spoke General Lamperouge as he turned to the commander, pausing his walking. "When Infinity first returned to Requiem some 2 months ago, you were handed ten different Spartan teams to conduct the missions assigned here. Explain to me why you only have one now."

"Sir, with all due respect," said the commander as she tried talking. "The Spartans that have been sent to me aren't even Spartans; they're Marines who aren't capable to handle the jobs of the Spartans."

"All the more reason as to why the project itself is failing." He said to himself. "The Spartan program reached a success when Catherine Halsey raised them at so young an age and taught them the discipline they needed. I suggest that you buckle down on these new generations of Spartans, commander. I'd hate to see this project fail."

Sarah was slightly surprised at what the man was insinuating. _He's agreeing with Halsey?_

"General Lamperouge, Doctor Halsey kidnapped these children and is considered a War criminal for these actions." She said, trying to make sure she understood what she was saying.

"Do you stain your hands with evil, or surrender to it?" he mumbled to himself quietly.

"I beg your pardon, general?" she asked him to make sure she understood just what it was he said.

General Lamperouge paused as he shrugged off her words and continued walking through the corridor. "Back onto the topic at hand, Commander, for some reason, more and more Covenant have been arriving on Requiem this past month than they have in the past Five. I would like to know exactly why they've suddenly started this Migration. Do you have any leads?"

Commander Palmer continued following close behind and was slightly confused at what he'd said. "Any leads, umm, well no, sir, but-"

"But Nothing, Commander. I shall head to the Bridge, and I expect you to come with me. I'd like to find out just what these Covenant are doing on this Nutshell. Call in Fireteam Vulture for briefing, and we'll see if we can make Super-soldiers out of them yet." And with those words, General Lamperouge strolled down the hall, a strict, serious expression frozen on that young face of his.

Commander Sarah Palmer watched him leave, accompanied by his four guards, and thought to herself. _Something's a bit wrong here. That boy agreeing with Halsey and muttering to no-one is a bit strange._

"Roland." She said, placing a hand on her Communicator she had hanging over her ear.

The A.I's voice responded near instantly, and as clear as it did wherever he was on the ship. "Yes, Commander Palmer, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Call up Fireteam Vulture to the Bridge. If you could also, would you do a search for all files on General Lamperouge? Something's not right here, and I'm not going to be kept in the dark like this."

Roland paused as if thinking before his voice responded into her earpiece. "Can-do, Commander. I just hope that you're right about this gut feeling of yours."

"I'm almost never wrong, Roland."

* * *

Fireteam Vulture hung out at their usual spot in Hangar G. One of the lower-ranked hangars, it was first to be used as Storage for the Excess Vehicles and weapons packed on board. A small section of the hangar had been transformed by the members of Vulture into a Resting place. The group of five had transformed this section of storage into a nice temporary home for them while they were here: A section of Ammo crates that had been emptied were now used as Lounging chairs, the folding tops leaning against a Massive crate, An unused Forklift had been parked with its front against a crate and set up just right so that it served as a Doorway to the small little open-roofed room, and a few blankets from a room or two were currently being used as something to sleep with, in case one or two of these Spartans wanted to miss something and not be disturbed.

Currently, there were four people actually there, Most of them without their helmets. A Female Brunette with hair just below her shoulder sat beside a Male with the same, brown-colored hair. They both stared anxiously at a Communication screen that appeared to be worked on by a guy with messed-up black hair. A guy with Midnight-blue hair sat off in the corner, working on some dials that tuned into his Commando helmet, fine-tuning the settings.

The guy with Black hair would continue fiddling with the electrical systems on the communication screen, "Annd…alllmost…Done." He said, taking a step back with a smile as he hurried over to the other corner where a cylindrical machine sat there with a set of three Antennae emerging from it. A group of wires seemed to travel from the base of the comm-screen to the Machine itself. After pressing a few buttons on the cylinder's pad, he turned to the screen and looked at it. It flickered a bit to life before, an image began to show, the picture becoming clearer and clearer as sound was soon heard from the screen. "And we now have Inter-stellar Television!"

The three of them smiled and cheered. "Alright, High-five, Lucas!" said the male brunette to the Black-haired T.V Repairman.

Lucas turned to the guy and smirked obnoxiously. "Sorry, K, I don't do High-fives." Said the guy as he plopped down beside the boy and began to watch the news being displayed. "Scoot over, squirt, It's uncomfortable on the end."

"Well, too bad because we got the comfortable seats first." Said the female brunette with a smile and a heavy New United Kingdom accent as she watched too.

"Careful, Sam. I'm trying not to murder you already after you spray-painted my helmet." Retorted Lucas in response. "I'm still getting rid of that last white stuff. What'd you use anyway?"

"Better watch out man or your Helmet's not the only thing she'll cover in white stuff." Whispered Kale to Lucas, causing both of them to laugh as Sam punched Kale in the shoulder.

While those three were laughing, the male in the corner sighed as he put his helmet back on and tapped a button to the side. The screen before him zoomed in rather far, but the image was still a bit blurry. With that, he removed it once more and twisted the focus.

"Yo, Marc!" called the Black-haired punk to the guy in the corner. "Where's Vokan chick?" asked Lucas rudely.

"She's at the Firing range. She said she'll be back when she's done." Said the guy working on tuning his helmet.

"Or when she finds another person to take shots at." Whispered Kale jokingly to the two beside him.

"Be Careful of who you speak ill of."

The heavy Russian accent that was heard from the doorway signaled her arrival. The woman walked in with her Venator armor on in full-suit, helmet and all. She spun the magnum on her finger before holstering it and walking over to the group on the Armor-crate watching the Television, standing directly in front of them. "You three, Why are you spending time watching the television instead of working on your aim. Trust me; you'll need it out here."

"Yeah. Sorry Z," said Lucas with a smirk. He just moved over a bit to see the screen before him. "I think I'd rather spend my time learning about Insurrectionists than not having any knowledge about it at all."

The woman in front of them frowned as she pulled off her helmet. The Ashen-blonde hair fell down in short strands around her face, while her eyes of bright blue glared into Lucas' of Green. "Perhaps I shall report this to Commander Palmer; see what she thinks about all this, hmm?"

Kale and Sam looked at each other, slightly worried now as Lucas only stared back at Z with lack of proper fear on his face. "Go ahead and try."

Z would continue to stare at Lucas with her angry eyes before turning and heading towards the doorway.

"No!" cried Sam and Kale in unison as they jumped up and grabbed the woman.

"Come on, Z!"

"We just got it today, Don't be a let-down!"

The Ashen-blonde woman merely froze before sighing dejectedly and looking at the two. "Alright… I'm interested in the news as well. Let me see." She said, returning to the crate and standing behind it, staring at the screen. Sam and Kale both sighed as they returned to their spots on the crate and stared at the screen before them, listening to the various different reports on Insurrectionist movements and other such details.

Marc would look at the four watching the television and sigh once more as he put his helmet back on his head to test the zoom once more. He stared at the wires from the open control-panel beside the Comm-screen and activated the zoom. Quickly zooming forward, he saw the wire in the middle, a completely red wire trailing from one side to the other, and noticed the port connecting both sides. "Good test."

"_Spartan Caelus, do you read me?" _crackled the voice of Roland in his helmet.

"Yeah, I read you, Roland." Replied Marc. "What do you got for me?"

"_Commander Palmer wants you at the Bridge as soon as possible." _Issued Roland. "_She's in a bad mood today too, so I suggest hoofing it._"

"Roger that, Roland. On our way." Nodded Marc as he stood up and headed over to the Comm-screen, turning it off. The four at the crate groaned at what he did before Lucas interrupted them.

"Wait, 'our' way?" he asked him, slightly disappointed that him and the group couldn't stay and watch a bit more. "What do they need us for?"

"We're needed at the Bridge, so come-on. We can't sit and watch the News all Day, we have our own part in the News to play."

Kale and Sam both groaned as they grabbed their helmets from behind the crate. "Why do we have to go now? I thought we were put on break." Asked Sam, donning her Aviator Helmet while Kale grabbed his Hazop helmet.

"Well, the Break time is over." Responded Z as she replaced her Venator helmet. Lucas smirked placing his Warmaster helmet back on, the red, Skull-like Visor staring at everyone as bad-ass as it could look. "You said it, Madame Vokan." He responded to her. The woman looked at him and flipped him off before storming out of the hangout.

Lucas followed suit laughing and taunting her some more. "What's wrong, did I upset you?" Sam followed suit after that, a laugh coming from her as she did so.

"I don't get paid enough to put up with this." Said Marc with a sigh as he made sure they left.

"You don't get paid at all." Responded Kale with humorous intent as he followed close behind.

* * *

Fireteam Vulture's armor scheme is quite a formidable one. The various different armor types are suited to the person's own unique skill in the squad, but their colors are almost all the same. Steel-colored with white details. The armor might look strange, but it was helpful for moving in the shadows. Their visors differed in color, but each of them looked like the Vulture their team was named after, So when they entered the Bridge, walking in single-file line, each carrying an assault rifle on their back and their helmet under their right armpits, one might think they were actual birds they were named after, the symbol of their squad standing out on their Left shoulder, a Sword pointing downwards over a shield with Wings on it. They stood in front of the Holo-field display at attention, turning on their heels and looking straight ahead.

"Fireteam Vulture, Reporting for Duty, Sir!"

Commander Palmer turned from her place at the Display field to the group and greeted them. "Greetings, Spartans." She said with a nod to them. "I've been keeping track of your progress, and as the best-ranked Spartan teams here, you are to be given this new mission."

"By Default…" muttered Lucas to himself quietly.

"What was that, Spartan?"

The Holo-field display was surrounded by officers maintaining it and bringing up certain places on Requiem. Captain Lasky was over-viewing an area of Jungle somewhere on the planet while General Lamperouge stood beside him. He turned to the group of Spartans who walked in and approached Lucas, staring directly into his face. "I do hope that wasn't you who said that. It's an honor to go down to Requiem. It's not every day you see something as glorious as a Brand New World."

Lucas sighed before responding. "Sir, No, Sir! It is a glorious feat, Sir!" he said, handing out the usual old Military buff.

General Lamperouge glared at him for a little while before walking down the line, his gaze shifting straight down as he turned and glared them down, seeing only the side of their faces. "Spartans, Sound-off!"

Kale held his hand in salute as he looked directly ahead, the calls coming down the line one by one.

"Service tag 7192, Spartan Kale Nichols, Sir!"

"Service tag 6024, Spartan Zigeuner Lodewan, Sir!"

"Service tag 7156, Spartan Samantha Bradford, Sir!"

"Service tag 6089, Spartan Lucas Daniel, Sir!"

"Service tag 7001, Spartan Marc Caelus, Sir!"

After hearing the group speak, General Lamperouge nodded with a slight huff as he walked toward Lucas, standing directly in front of him. "I don't want to hear any more lip from you, is that clear?"

Lucas smirked a bit but spoke again. "Crystal, sir!"

General Lamperouge frowned at him before he turned and returned back to the Holo-field display. "Captain Lasky, You have the floor."

Lasky blinked as he looked at the General and nodded before turning to the Spartans. "Alright, Spartans, sorry to disturb your break, but your next assignment's come in. We've detected a Covenant communications station at this section. No doubt it's protected, but that's why we're sending you. So far, the Covenant have been able to hear our Radio traffic. It's time they're on the other side of the coin.

"We've a Pelican already waiting at Hangar E for your team. You're going to be on your own this time, as we need to conserve the marines we have left." Said Lasky as he zoomed out of the Holo-field display and showed them the high-lighted section that was just zoomed in. "Your destination is here. Make it and tune in to the Covenant Broad-cast network. We'll send you instructions from there."

"Sir, yes sir!" called the five Spartans in Unison.

Captain Lasky glanced over at General Lamperouge, who only typed things into his Data-pad with his stylus. The seriously disappointed look on his face was unnerving. Lasky nodded to the Spartans. "Alright, you're dismissed. Head to the Hangar, and get going, the mission starts now."

The Spartan team nodded as they filed out of the Bridge, each Dark-armored soldier following the next. Commander Palmer was about to follow them as well, when Lasky interrupted. "Sarah, You're needed at Control." Paused and nodded, cursing inside her helmet before turning. "Got it, Captain. I'll keep track of them."

"General Lamperouge, perhaps you'd-"

"I shall return to my room." He said with a frown as he looked at Captain Lasky, interrupting him. "I've had enough disappointment for now, and I'd like a break from Space-travel." The general turned and walked towards the door, Data-pad in hand and a hoof in his step as he left the ship's Bridge.

As soon as the doors closed behind him, Captain Lasky sighed as he looked back at the map of Requiem. "So… What do you think of all this?" he said to Commander Palmer.

"I think he's only obsessed with Progress and the Failure of the Spartan-IV project." She said, staring at the map as well. "I'm not sure of how he'll take it if these guys fail."

"Then let's make sure they don't fail." Said the Captain, zooming in on the highlighted selection where the layout was shown, reviewing the map once more to make sure he and Palmer could lead them through.

* * *

Lelouch sighed as he entered the washroom inside his quarters. He turned behind him and locked the door before walking to the sink and staring at his reflection in the mirror. The face staring back at him had remained the same since five months ago. He stared at his face for a little bit before slamming the palms of his hands onto his forehead.

The pain he felt from hurting himself was only momentary, but the feeling of what happened five months ago brought him to this state. Tears began to well up in his eyes. He only blinked them away as a slight sob came from his throat. He breathed in and out, trying to regain his composure. He needed to be strong in this world. Weakness can get you killed here.

He stared at his face, the tears gone from his pale face as he raised his hand. He hadn't changed a bit. Gently, ever so gently, his fingers trailed along the sides of his jaw, reaching the corner of his eyes. Ever so gently, he touched his eye and removed the special, self-cleaning contact lens covering his right eye. Behind the lens, he stared at that face of Evil from when he first achieved the Geass. It had remained there, as had the one on his other eye. The symbols had not faded since, and he was lucky to have the specially-made contacts for him. Without them, he'd be found out for sure.

Sighing as he quickly looked away from himself down at the Metallic sink; he placed the contact back on his eye and blinked, adjusting it. Once more, he stared at the face of a UNSC General and straightened himself, brushing off the dirt from his uniform. After regaining his composure, he left the washroom and closed the door behind him, his face exactly the same as it had been upon his arrival.

"Requiem… How Ironic… "

**(A.N:** And here's the Second Chapter. I'm going to try and do it in a Geass-Halo-Geass-Halo pattern until I reach a certain point. This is just to clarify a few things. I've checked the Reviews already, and I'm happy that nearly 200 people have read my story since I put it up Yesterday. I've decided to go ahead and answer a few questions in this chapter.

And What a surprise! Lelouch still has his Geass? Why would he have it here? How did he arrive? All will be explained later in the story, so stay tuned!**)**


	4. Chapter 3: Mankind's Greatest Discovery

**Chapter 3: "Mankind's Greatest Discovery"**

"Alright, now do you mind explaining what this is all about?"

Now starting to walk into the massive, white building before her, Kallen, who had been dragged, pushed and shoved into a dark car, driven through unknown streets, and arrived at an unknown lab, was slightly upset. Her 'Kidnappers' were two normally sensible people. The way they were acting just now was quite strange.

Okay, maybe Sensible wasn't the right word, but they wouldn't do something as bad as Kidnapping her.

"We've told you all we can without being inside. I'd love to tell you more, but let's get to a more secure location, alright?" spoke Lloyd as he took the lead, the doors to the building opening up automatically as he reached them.

Cecile followed close behind Kallen and Lloyd, a nervous smile on her face. "Lloyd, are you sure this was the right idea? I mean, sure our schedule has been sped-up a bit, but forging Mrs. Kozuki's Signature might get us into trouble."

"Wait, wait." Interrupted Kallen as she was continued to be ushered through the doors and the Well-mannered Hospital-like lobby that was first shown. "_Forged?"_

"All in good time, dear!" said Dr. Asplund as he flashed an ID badge in front of a scanner sitting on the Secretary's desk. She smiled a bit, not quite paying attention to the scene as the three hurried over to an Elevator door. Lloyd quickly pressed the button and turned back to Kallen. "I do think you're going to find this much better than attending school for the next two weeks… Or two months…"

"Two months?" asked Kallen raising an eyebrow at Lloyd confused at what he was talking about. "Why don't you know the date?"

"Oh, all will be explained. Anyways, Worst-case scenario, you'll be gone Two years, but-"

"Two _Years!?_"

"-But there's a very low possibility of that happening." Said the scientist as the elevator door opened and he stepped inside, holding the door open for the two behind him.

Cecile sighed as she lightly pushed Kallen inside. "Wh-hey!" responded the Pilot who didn't quite like being pushed.

"Sorry, dear." Responded Cecile with a sigh as she made it inside and stood right beside Kallen. "It's just that he always knows the wrong things to say."

"Well what's the right thing to say then?" interrogated the Red-head.

Cecile paused and remained silent, not saying a word as the doors closed. While the Elevator could be heard going down, a female groan of nervousness could also be heard from inside the compartment.

* * *

As the elevator door opened, finally reaching the lower levels, Kallen looked at the massive hangar-like room before her. It was massive! It could hold at least Five Gurens side by side _and_ stacked on top of each other! Various people in lab coats seemed to be distracted by Computer terminals and Different-colored cables stretching throughout the various area of the room. To the side, an Air-lock door was placed only a bit out from the wall, leading up to a set of windows overviewing the bay itself.

In the middle of the bay, a strange structure rested. It seemed like an Arch, but jetted up from one pillar before curving out, around and back in, jetting down in another pillar. The strange device hung from a series of cables and wires attached to the Ceiling. Overhead, a team of welders were busy welding a piece of metal onto one of the cables to keep it stable, but sparks kept falling onto the ground below before dissipating.

Lloyd stepped out and started walking, in his own hurry to reach a computer terminal, pushing a medium-sized scientist out of the way of one. "This place was where the Camelot research team developed the Lancelot prototype. It took us many different tries to get it, and some room to test, so we needed as much space as possible."

"O…kay…" responded Kallen slowly as she took everything in.

"Breathtaking, I know." Said Cecile with a smile, patting Kallen on the back. "That's how I felt when I first arrived."

"Well, you're used to it, I'm not." She said with a slight smirk before looking at Lloyd. "Alright, you have a minute to explain yourself before I find my reason to leave again." She said with a slight demanding tone. "Talk."

Lloyd turned to her and raised an eyebrow before sighing, "Alright, I suppose It's time I spill the information."

"Actually, Lloyd, I think I can take it from here."

Kallen turned to the woman who spoke as her eyes widened. The girl had Dark greenish hair that had dropped from its kept-up style, and now hung loosely around her shoulders and back. The glasses had been renewed, but she still had that same shy, quiet grin of hers.

"Nina? Is that you?"

The scientist nodded as she smiled at her. "Yes, it's me. It's been quite a while, hasn't it, Kallen?" she said with a smile as she walked over to the girl and hugged her.

Taken by surprise, the mecha-pilot only blushed a bit as she slowly placed her arms around the girl's shoulders. "Umm… Good to see you too."

Nina smiled as she pulled away before turning to Lloyd. "Are the others on their way? We have to get this done today, you know." She said, making sure Lloyd got the message.

"Yes, yes, I know. I've already sent the other four retrieval teams. They should be arriving any minute now." Lloyd said with a Sigh as he headed towards the Air-lock. "If you'll excuse me, I'll go and get the subject. It'll make explanations easier."

"Perfect. Make sure not to Damage it!" called Nina before she turned to look at Kallen. "It's a pleasure to have you as part of our crew, Kallen. I promise I'll explain more when everyone gets here."

"Oh, Jeez, it's a… pleasure being here… for something I don't even know about." She said with a sigh as she walked over to the console Lloyd was recently on and simply stared at the structure thing in the center. "So… How've you been coping?" asked the pilot, turning her head a bit to the side to get a glimpse at Nina.

The Scientist's face paled as she looked down, a grim expression masking her face. "While I… do admit I've made mistakes in the past… I've grown from them and learned how to let things go." She said with a better smile, looking up at Kallen. "How have… _you_ been coping?"

Kallen's own face paused and became silent as she looked downwards at the various steel pieces covering the floor. She'd seen Nina only once, after Lelouch died. They all knew how much Zero and Lelouch meant to Kallen. Nina, who had been devastated at Euphemia's death had threatened to commit a Kamikaze attack herself, Nina knew the dangerous actions one might commit after having their idol taken from them.

"I see…" spoke Nina with a sigh, walking up to Kallen and patting her shoulder, a smile arriving on her face. "Don't worry; I'm sure you'll get better. Eventually, you'll look back on it and keep them as a close, loving memory."

"Yeah… That's what I was afraid of happening." She said, looking at the structure once more, her eyes serious with a touch of grim.

"Afraid of what happening?"

As the elevator doors opened behind Kallen, she turned to spy two people whom she didn't expect to see here. The couple smiled as they continued to embrace each other as they approached Kallen. "Hey, Kallen. It's been a while, huh?" asked Villetta with a smile.

"Ohgi! Villetta!" said Kallen with a smile as she quickly hugged both of them. "God, it's been months!"

"Months?" asked the smirking figure of Ohgi, whose hairstyle remained the same as it always had, the bandanna always around his head. "It feels like years."

Nina smiled as she watched the reunion and whispered to Kallen quietly. "I have some finishing touches to run, I'll be with you when the group's assembled completely.

"Okay, thanks, she said back to the scientist as she strolled away, turning her direction back to the married couple. "Well, it's just a surprise to see you guys now. Villetta, How's little Keima?" she said, smiling at her.

"He's perfectly fine, thanks for asking," Replied the new mother. "A Healthy young boy. He has his Father's eyes." She said, leaning on Ohgi's shoulder and looking at him with a smile.

"Yeah, and he has his Mother's nose." He said, giving her a quick kiss there, causing both of them to smile at each other.

Kallen's viewing of the two's lovefest made her smile. She wished that she could find someone to love like that. If only Lelouch hadn't…

No, she couldn't let herself break down like that. Not here, not now. She needed to be strong.

"Well, seems like I haven't missed much."

The second male voice was shockingly familiar. Exiting from the Elevator this time was an odd pair that smiled at the group. A Girl with pink hair held a smile as she walked arm-in-arm with the Green-haired man with half of an ornate mask on the left side of his face. "It's a pleasure to see all of you again." Smiled the cyborg.

"Jeremiah?" questioned Ohgi as he looked at the noble before him. "Wow, you look… "

"The same? Yes, I know. It's one of the Perks of being a Cyborg. I grow older just a bit slower."

"It's a benefit for us, though." Said Anya as she rested her head on his arm. "That way, he can wait for me."

Jeremiah smiled as he nodded, looking at Anya. "Of course, darling." He said, leaning in and giving her a quick kiss before turning back to the group before him.

Ohgi and Kallen were both stunned. Jeremiah and Anya, two enemies from different sides joined as Star-crossed lovers. Who would have thought the two would make a couple? "Well, I'm… Happy for you two!" said Kallen, giving a thumbs up to the two as she smiled. Ohgi gave a thumbs up as well but only rubbed the back of his neck, not entirely sure how the situation between the two would end up.

Villetta's approach to the matter was entirely different from the other two's. She walked over to the two and smiled at Anya. "Pardon me, dear." She said before turning her gaze angrily to Jeremiah and back-handing his face.

While he was partly robotic, the part where she attacked him was still human. "Ow!" he cried, turning back to Villetta confused as her arms wrapped around his chest

"That was for all the problems you caused me! This… is for the problems I caused you."

Jeremiah paused before he patted her back. "I forgive you, Villetta. Even though we were only in the same squadron-"

"Only in the same squadron?" asked the new mother as she pulled back from Jeremiah, cocking an eyebrow at him. She sighed, turning away and returning to Ohgi's side. "Jeez, men are always going to be idiots, aren't they?"

"You know it." Responded Anya with a wink. Kallen smiled as she looked at the unusually friendly girl. Ever since the Damocles, she'd regained her emotional side and had grown to make more friends. It was nice being able to see her moving on with her life. The four people whom she'd worked with five months ago seemed to greet each other and talk as if they'd seen each other only yesterday. She smiled as she looked at the group, recalling how the Rebellion brought all of them together, and how it really did make a difference.

"Well, it seems I've arrived late for the party…"

All five of them turned to spy their most recent arrival. The purple and golden clothes were cloaked by a great black cape that hid most of his body. The high-collar surrounded the Black, gold and purple mask that stared at the group. Everyone stopped talking to look at the idol of Zero. His arrival caught mostly everyone here by surprise. None of them spoke as they all glared at him. His voice sounded exactly like the one of their betrayer and savior. Sadly, they all knew who was hiding beneath the punishing guise of the Mask.

"Lord Zero, it's been ages." Spoke Jeremiah as he hoped to continue hiding the guise of Zero to those who did not know. "I've wanted to come serve you, but-"

"Serve m-" the masked man was about to ask before he paused and stopped, realizing just what Jeremiah was doing. "It's alright. You haven't been needed, so I've let you enjoy your new life." Spoke the man, hoping to keep the guise going.

"Lord… Zero, Forgive me for inquiring," spoke Kallen to him relishing the words of calling the man her idol. "but Do you have the idea of why we're here?

"I do." He said with a nod, turning to look past Ohgi and Kallen, spying the Green-haired scientist return to them.

"It's a pleasure to see all of you again." Said Nina with a curt nod as she continued to look around the group. "I do hope you guys have your letter signed and with you?" she said, holding out her hand.

Ohgi paused and nodded, handing Nina his letter followed by Jeremiah. The surprise came when Zero himself gave Nina a letter himself.

"Suza-Zero?" asked Ohgi, looking at him curiously as he caught himself from saying the name. "You're going too?"

"I was requested too, and with Nunnally's permission, I've been given a leave of absence from my duties to follow through with this mission." He said, turning his gaze towards Kallen and looking at her for a second before turning back to Nina quickly. "Has Kallen been approved?"

"More or less, yes." Said Nina with a nervous smile. "We've had to pull a few strings…"

"Pull a few strings?" asked Kallen sarcastically, turning to Nina. "You mislabeled the time I'd be gone by nearly two years, forged my mother's signature, and had me 'Kidnapped' from school. I mean, don't get me wrong. I like seeing everyone here and catching up on the past five months, but I'd like an explanation as to why, and Soon."

Nina listened intently to Kallen's opinion on the whole thing and sighed a bit, looking at her with a smile. "I suppose It is time to explain just why everyone's here. If you'll follow me, I'll be happy to explain everything."

* * *

The Windowed control-room that overviewed the Hangar had been tinted so no-one could look inside, while the airlock was tightly secured. Everyone had gathered inside the chamber and Nina had made sure that she'd placed two guards outside the control-room to make sure that no unauthorized personnel were allowed up. Once everyone was situated, Zero sighed as he removed the mask, revealing the disheveled hair and face of Suzaku Kururugi. He looked around the room at everyone and nodded as he removed his cloak. "I apologize for the façade… but to everyone else, I'm still dead…"

"We know, Suzaku. You don't have to apologize." Interrupted Kallen, who walked over to the front control window, a look of focus returning to her eyes as she turned to Nina. "Now, elaborate why you went to such lengths to get us here."

"Right." began Nina with her explanation. "I've requested you to come here for this Friday. Sadly, the U.F.N wants this research project wrapped up by the end of the Month. I've tried to lengthen this deadline as long as possible, because the length of this journey is undetermined. All that I know is that you'll be gone for at least two weeks, and at most… two years.

"Now, hang on." Responded Ohgi, who, like all the others began to look concerned. "Two years where?"

"I'm getting to that." Spoke Nina as she'd continue. "A Few months ago, perhaps a week after Lelouch's death, or 'Zero Requiem' as some of you call it, the U.F.N Science team here detected a strange environmental disturbance in the atmosphere above Japan. It wasn't anything life changing, such as a hole in the ozone layer, but nearly a day or two after the disturbance appeared, we received reports of a meteor shower."

"Yes, the shooting stars that appeared in the middle of the night. I remember them." Interrupted Jeremiah as he recalled the situation.

"Correct. Now, our Astronomy department usually catches these sorts of things, but when we started receiving the reports, we'd been surprised. There was absolutely no change in our readings. We began to look for any glitches or problems in our scans, but nothing, they seemed to appear out of nowhere, directly over Japan; Right where the disturbance was found.

"Further investigation in this disturbance led to a realization as to what this thing actually was. We decided to send a Scanner into the sky to see if we could find out exactly what it truly was. After sending it up, we lost signal and never got it retrieved. It was as if it had simply disappeared. After scanning the sky from a distance, we noticed that it lacked anything. No radiation, no chemicals, no light, and yet it wasn't noticeable at all. It's completely invisible to the naked human eye, but it's almost as if nothing is there."

"So wait," spoke Ohgi in a slightly confused manner. "Wouldn't that mean there's nothing there at all?"

Nina sighed as she'd continue. "No, you see, everything has some traces of chemicals, radiation or light in them. If it doesn't then that means it doesn't exist. The strange thing about this is that ever since this thing has appeared, more and more meteor showers are appearing, leading us to believe that it's causing them."

"So, wait," interrupted Kallen as she raised an eyebrow at Nina's words. "What do Meteor showers and a disturbance over Japan have to do with us going on a trip?"

"Sorry, everyone! I had to get the sample from containment!"

The voice of Lloyd echoed from the stairs leading up to the control-room. He smiled as his head popped up, his arms carrying a clear, plexiglass case of what looked like a heavy, Tan rock. He swung it gently as he slowly trudged. "You wouldn't believe the safety we put on this thing to keep it hidden and safe from prying eyes! It took me long enough, but they finally trusted me enough to let me have it." He said as he slowly began to lift it onto a table in the back of the room. "God, this thing weighs a ton!" he said, resting it on the table.

The rock didn't look like anything special. It looked like it would come from a canyon instead of Japan, but the coming of it being brought by Lloyd must mean it has some value to it. Kallen blinked as she peered at it from where she was standing. "What is that?"

Lloyd smiled widely as he turned to the group and began to flourish his arms and hands. "That, everyone, is the only surviving meteor sample we've managed to recover from the Disturbance's meteor showers! It's absolutely incredible, this rock having appeared from nowhere and managing to survive burning through the atmosphere, it might be This Century's-Nay, Mankind's Greatest Discovery!" called Lloyd extravagantly with a large burst of his arms.

"Mankind's Greatest Discovery might be a little much, don't you think?"

The feminine voice of Rakshata Chawla came from the now-opening side doors. The Indian woman smirked at Lloyd, who's face had turned into a frown at her arrival. "Oh, Rakshata, Why do you always have to rain on my speeches? Honestly, you'd be better off helping in the research."

"I wanted to say hello to some of my old friends, and hear a bit of your speech for myself." She said with a cocky smile as she leaned against the window next to Kallen's. "Don't let me stop you, carry on." She said, smirking as she watched Lloyd speak.

Lloyd watched her cautiously before he himself began to talk again. "When this rock fell from the sky, it left a burning hot crater, yet happily, the rock remained intact. Our team arrived on sight quickly and managed to catch the rock before we lost it to the Military or some other organization like that. After retrieving it, we ran practically every single test we could on it to see what kind of product the disturbance truly creates. After scanning it deeply enough, we found trace amounts of Elements that almost exactly resemble Earth!" he said with a happy smile.

"Almost?" interrupted Rakshata.

Lloyd paused as he glared at her. "'Almost' as in 'Resembling the Earth from two-thousand years ago.' Almost."

Kallen finally got what he was saying, along with Nina's explanation. "So wait, you're saying that there's some kind of Wormhole floating above Japan?" she asked incredulously.

All three scientists nodded as Nina continued from where Lloyd left off. "The meteor became our key piece of evidence, and with Lloyd and Rakshata's help, we had been able to figure out an idea of where it had come from. All of our scans had determined that the disturbance above Japan hadn't created the rocks themselves. If it had, then they'd fall to the ground without burning up in the atmosphere. From what we can tell, they'd experienced some kind of travel that was faster than the speed of light."

"Excuse me, Miss Einstein," questioned Jeremiah. "Are we talking about Time travel?"

"Actually, Orange," responded Lloyd. "We don't know what we're talking about. It could be time travel, it could be space travel, it could go through different dimensions! Who knows! All we know is that we've quite possibly discovered the location of another planet similar to ours! We would be able to Expand on another planet! Grow exponentially without fear of overpopulation! It's an Amazing Discovery!"

"Yes, it is." Interrupted Nina, breaking Lloyd from another of his long speeches. "We've worked hard with our constant studying of the disturbance, and we haven't been able to replicate its effects, but we have managed to do the next best thing: We've manage to construct a device to communicate with the disturbance above Tokyo, and are finally able to send things through it to the other side."

Kallen turned her gaze to the tinted window and looked at the construct through the dark shaded glass. "Which is that thing in the Hangar."

"Quite correct," replied the Indian Scientist as she looked through the glass herself. "I've tested it enough to prove that it's safe for humans to use without dying from Injury. We've chosen you because we feel that you've had enough experience in danger and are best qualified for a mission such as this. Once you've all agreed, let us know and we will make sure you have a safe trip."

While Rakshata, Nina and Lloyd left through the side-door, the remaining six people looked between each other warily as they decided just what to do about it. It was an impressive offer; be part of a science team, risk your life, and possibly discover one of the greatest things in history, or stay home and live a normal life.

"I'm going." Spoke Suzaku with a nod, leaning against the railing that leaned over the edge of the Stair-well leading from the air-lock to the control-room. "I'd been elaborated on the subject one night from Nunnally. She thought it would be best for Zero to take a leave of absence and thought my skills would be needed on this mission."

"Then I shall follow." Spoke Jeremiah with a smile on his face. "I might not be completely human, but I still have instinct, and my instinct tells me that this is going to be an interesting adventure. Count me in."

Anya blinked as she looked at him, but smiled as she realized he was strong enough on his own to handle anything dangerous he came across. "I trust you, darling. Being able to beat the Mordred during the chaos that occurred at Damocles is proof enough. I want you to come back though. I don't want to live without you." Spoke Anya with an absolutely surprisingly playful tone.

Jeremiah smiled as he nodded to her. "And neither I, for you."

Ohgi paused while he thought about the subject. It was an interesting ordeal, being sent somewhere through time and space with "Well… It is a lot to put on someone…"

"If Ohgi goes, I go. I'm not going to leave his side." She said, placing her arms around his shoulder.

"Villetta, you can't go. You need to stay and take care of Keima." Spoke Ohgi, who raised a hand to comb through her hair. "I can handle myself on this trip, and I promise I'll be back as soon as I can."

Villetta was about to protest more before she paused and thought of Keima. Someone did need to stay and take care of him, and she wouldn't trust him to anyone but herself and Ohgi. "… Alright. Just make it back in time for supper." She said, smiling a bit as she repeated the old saying.

Suzaku nodded at the group and turned to look at Kallen, who's head was still turned to look at the structure in the Hangar. "Kallen? You've been aw-"

"No."

Ohgi blinked as he heard his old friend speak so bluntly. "No? But Kallen, it-"

"I. said. _No!"_ she said, turning to look at the group. "How can you guys say yes without worrying? You've worked so hard to achieve this normal life that we work in now! A life of a Father, a life of a Farmer, a life of a Politician!" she said, pointing to each individual in turn. "What about me? I was done with the war. I thought it was over, and I could just live as a girl! It was fun and all when we worked with each other, but I'm sick of worrying about some shit flying through the window with the possibility of me dying! How do you guys take it? You jump right in the middle of it all!" she said, panting as she finished her little rant.

Everyone paused as they stared at her, listening intently to her explanation, taking it all in slowly. The room echoed with her last word, like a water-drop echoing through a cave. Finally, Ohgi broke the silence. "Kallen… Why do you still wear your Guren key around your neck?"

Kallen froze as she looked down at the Mecha's key strung on a rope hanging loosely. "I wear it f-"

"You wear it as a key, not only to your Guren," spoke Ohgi, interrupting her. "but to your memory. You remember all the good times we had in the war, fighting to liberate the world. You wear it not only as a reminder of your time with us, but of your time with _him_."

Kallen froze as she looked down, holding the key out in front of her, staring at it while listening to Ohgi speak. "You wear it because he gave it to you. He gave you the strategies to win, and you gave him your devotion. He worked for the greater good of mankind, and even when everyone was against him, he still managed to gain control of the world. He deceived everyone to make the world a greater place." Ohgi paused as he looked around at the group in the room. "… He was a better human than any of us could ever be."

Ohgi then turned back to Kallen, taking a step towards her. "But you have to let him go! The Kallen I know would jump at the chance to do this, and she'd move on from it all." Reaching a point beside her, he placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him quickly. "Kallen… You _have_ to move on."

Kallen froze as she heard him finish his speech. It was true. She did love him, and she wanted to keep him in her heart. Perhaps that's why she hung on to her Guren key. Perhaps she was afraid that jumping back into the fray without him would cause her to break down in tears at his loss. The key to, perhaps, his only present held her only true memory, closest to her heart.

_Maybe it _is_ time. S_he thought to herself.

"Alright," She said, looking up at Ohgi with an angry scowl. "but I'm going to be captain, understand?" she said, poking him hard in the chest.

Ohgi backed up a tiny bit from her poke, but smiled at her. "We wouldn't have it any other way."

"Sorry I'm late everyone."

The voice of the girl echoed from the stairs as she slowly walked up them. No other words were heard, but the growing clack of heels on each step signaled the approach. Before long, a feminine head, layered with green hair poked out from the side-railing, looking up with golden eyes at each individual person in the group. "What?" she inquired. "Did I miss the good part?"

"C.C! Glad you made it!" cried Lloyd as he and the scientists re-entered the room, clipboards in their hands as they looked at her. "I was beginning to think your escort hadn't been able to find you at Kallen's."

"I walked here." She said blatantly, walking up the rest of the stairs and leaning on the railing. "The city's a nice place for a stroll. I decided it'd be better to take one."

"Wait, you mean you guys _knew_ she was at my place?" interrupted a confused Kallen.

"Of course, dear!" responded Rakshata with a smile. "After all, she was the one we contacted first about the entire ordeal! She told us she'd make it to Japan back in time, and be there until we needed her." She then smiled, suppressing a laugh. "Oh, and I must say. _Great_ job of keeping her hidden." She said Sarcastically.

Kallen blushed as she turned to C.C, her face obviously showing her embarrassment. "You could have told me they knew you were still alive."

"You didn't ask." Shrugged a slightly amused witch as she looked at the pilot.

"Well, we're at least glad to see you could make it in time." Spoke Nina with a kind smile before turning to everyone in the room. "Have you all made your decision then?"

Everyone in the room nodded a yes, save for Kallen and those who were remaining behind. Kallen paused before huffing. "Yes, I'll go. _Just_ to make sure that you guys don't mess anything up." She said, crossing her arms.

"Well then, I suppose since you're all in," spoke Rakshata with a smile. Slapping her pen on her clipboard as a smile arose to her face.. "We have a few tests to run, so let's get started!"

**(A.N: **Alright guys, another chapter uploaded onto the site! Glad to hear you guys are liking it so far, as this is my first major crossover, and I'd like to see how I'm doing altogether. I've written down tons of plots for stories, but so far, this one has to be my favorite. Anyways, On to Review question time!

Hagen: No, Lelouch is not immortal.

Wow…surprisingly, not many other questions that were asked from the Reviews. The other ones that weren't answered, I either cannot say for fear of Spoilers, or I've explained in this chapter. Anyways, check back soon for more!

And if any of you guys are wondering what that structure is in the middle of the hangar, and you have Halo 4, think of the decorative structure at the top of "Ravine." It looks something like that.**)**


	5. Chapter 4: Improvising

**Chapter 4: Improvising**

The Pelican Dropship cruised toward the Gravity-Well of Requiem, flying expertly around the debris as it carried the valuable passengers of Fireteam Vulture. The pilot didn't do that bad of a job as he flew, but Sam and Lucas groaned as the ship swayed back and forth. They all had their armors in full-suit, each of them loaded with their personal Loadouts and Marc in the back. As Marc got more information fed to him from Roland, he spoke back to his friendly Fireteam.

"Alright team, the structure we're looking for is going to look like the one located at 'The Refuge.' It's going to be nearly identical, with an Entry room and a Larger Hall. Most likely it's going to be guarded, since it's their source of communication with each other. The object we're looking for looks like a larger version of the normal Covenant Communicator. Once we receive the data and clear the outpost, The mission should be done. Any questions?"

"Yeah, I have one. Can we not get there sooner?" asked Sam, who clutched her stomach, obviously airsick. "This suit isn't meant to handle airsickness."

"You said it, Kiddo." Retorted Lucas who acted the same. "I can handle driving a Mongoose, but Pelicans aren't my thing."

"Everyone, Focus please!" called Marc, getting everyone's attention again. "This is going down as a Performance Review, but all attention needs to be placed on retrieving the objective. Z, you get point this time around. Sam, you cover our six. Kale, you take cover and move when safe. You can handle yourself fine, We know, but as the medic, we can't risk losing you. Lucas, you stick with me. If we happen to get separated, teams are; Lucas, Z and Me to team one, Sam and Kale to team two. Is that understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!" they all responded as the ship shuddered. The gravity well had finally been broken through, the Pelican continuing its course towards the outpost.

Marc smiled behind his helmet as he grabbed the strap above his head. "Alright team, everyone's ready, so Lock and Load."

* * *

General Lamperouge stood at the Bridge beside Lasky and Palmer, watching the status of the team as they landed nearly half a click from their position. Roland stood off to the side, watching the data and moving it inch by inch whenever he thought it necessary, ready to carry out any order. The data pad and stylus held in his hand was ready to be used to detail anything he noticed that was wrong with the Spartans or the commanding officers. Not batting an eyelash, he spoke. "A.I Roland, give me all the statistical and strategical information we've recovered on the Covenant, Prometheans and Fireteam Vulture."

"Can-do, General. Any reason as to why?"

"Do I _need_ a reason?" he inquired with a sharp tone.

Roland was quiet before responding once more. "Forerunner and Covenant data sent to your data pad, sir."

The General nodded as he began to scan through the files, pulling up the individual data on the Covenant Adversaries. Elites, it seemed, are the ones who are going to present the greatest problem of the group. The grunts themselves would be easier, but an EMP blast should disable shields. He listened to their radio and heard the orders Marc gave them. Interesting teams. He'd have to see how they fared together.

There currently seemed to be only two people with scavenged plasma pistols. The right combination, too. Each person was specialized for some sort of role in the mission. Ms. Lodewan on the Defensive, Mr. Daniel as the Scout, or Spy, Ms. Bradford as the Air-support, Mr. Nichols as the Medic, and Mr. Caelus, the appointed leader, as Speed. According to Palmer's notes, they'd performed through incredibly unorthodox methods, and had been able to succeed in each task.

"Pelican's E.T.A is ten minutes until reaching designated drop-point." Spoke Roland as he saw the blip finally appear on a zoomed out location of Requiem's jungle area. The green dot showed the location of the Pelican as it glided on its way, speeding across the sky.

That's when everything went to hell.

A medium-sized red dot appeared at the location of the outpost as it lit up for a brief second. The Green dot in the sky began to descend at a quickening pace. Shouts on the radio were heard as the Pelican descended. "_Shit! They have AA guns! Thomas, Try and evade before we're blown to pieces!" "I'm trying! You try piloting a Pelican missing a wing!" _The control team began to hurry at work, trying to figure out just what exactly happened.

Realizing just what the red blip was, Lasky intervened as he called to Spartan 7001. "Caelus, what happened?"

_"Sorry, Captain, going to have to call you back!" _responded the sound of the commander on the Communications channel. _"Dammit, another one incoming, Thomas, Move!"_

Another red blip was seen beside the outpost as the Pelican descended even faster, taking a downwards plunge. _"Shit! That's the other wing! Buckle up team! We're pulling a Crash landing!"_

Captain Lasky heard the words and glanced at the Holo-field display, watching the Green dot descend into a section nearby. The green dot disappeared the moment it crashed. Lasky paused as he noticed this. When a Pelican's signal goes out, it means the cockpit's been destroyed. Let's hope that the rest of the Pelican didn't blow with it.

Palmer hurried as she tried to communicate with the team. "Caelus, You still with us?"

No response.

"Caelus, do you read me?"

Still nothing.

General Lamperouge stood off to the side, watching the entire scene unfold. He expected this to happen. A communications outpost is quite possibly the most well-guarded stations besides Central Command. They wouldn't be simply vulnerable to Aircraft attacks. If anything, they'd have enough power to blast three Pelicans out of the sky. Thankfully, they only sent in one team; a team that would be able to sneak in on their own and handle the mission themselves.

If they were alive, that is.

* * *

"Commander? Commander Palmer, do you read me?" Called in Marc as he pushed a piece of the tail off his leg. He looked around the clearing the Pelican had landed in. Well, almost landed in was more like it. Debris scattered the ground below, but the Pelican itself had gotten caught in a section of four or five trees. The cockpit had been smashed through, the trunk of the tree splitting it in half up until the front of the Bay. With Two wings, a cockpit and a rudder missing, it looked more like a Tree-house than anything else.

Marc's shields flashed bright red, having broken from cushioning him from impact. His HUD would beep a few more times before the meter recharged itself, his armor sparking with electricity as his own personal defenses came back online. "Shit, she's not responding." He said with a groan, glancing around in a hope to find his teammates. "Fireteam Vulture, Report!" he called through his helmet's speakers.

"Here." Groaned a voice from a small area of grass nearby. Marc glanced at the voice and saw the aviator's armor of Samantha Bradford. She was face down on the dirt and groaned as her own armor sparked from lack of shields.

Marc hurried over to her and began to help her up as her shields recharged. "Sam, you alright?"

"I'm good. I've had my own share of crashes, and I've survived a lot worse." She peered around slowly. "Where's the others?"

"I'm here." Spoke Z's voice as she walked out into the clearing, her backside covered in brown mud from the landing. "Landed in a Pond. I lost Kale and Lucas."

"Alright then, let's find them." Issued Marc as he looked around. "Lucas! Kale! Where'd you guys go!"

"We're up here!"

The three below looked up at the Broken door of the Pelican's bay and noticed the Hazop helmet of Kale Nichols staring down at the group. He stretched an arm out the Mongoose-sized hole and waved down at them. "Hey guys. Glad to see you made it alright."

"Kale!" called Marc. "Are you alright? Is Lucas up there with you?"

"Uhh," responded Kale with a slight nervousness. "We're fine… Kale's taking a… Puking break… " The head disappeared for a little bit before a gagging sound could be heard from the 'Tree-house.' The Three-point visor returned to look down at the group. "He's fine. That was the last of it."

Marc sighed as he looked at Sam. "Sam, think you can get them down?"

She sighed as she brushed her leggings off, nodding as she looked at them. "Sure, just… Just give me a second."

Each member of Fireteam Vulture had their own sort of Armor ability on hand to help them with their position. Lucas' Promethean Vision helped him find out just where everything was, in terms of scouting. Kale's Regeneration Field helped shields recharge quickly, and would save others in some of the most crucial of moments. Marc's Thruster pack gave him the ability for a quick boost whenever he needed, while Z's scavenged Hardlight shield gave her the advantage of being the group's main defense. As for Samantha, well, her Jetpack served as a boost to help her get over enemies and attack from above.

"Could you hurry up, Kiddo?" Shouted Lucas as he himself moved towards where the skull visor of his could stare down at them. "I'd rather get down from here, and soon."

"Alright, I'm coming!" she said slightly bothered as she readjusted herself. "Don't rush me!"

The Jetpack let out a whooshing sound as the flames spouted from the bottom. Her well-timed jump gave her enough extra propulsion to reach the ledge of the bay. Her feet echoed off the floor with a clang as she looked at the two. "Alright boys, who's first?" she asked them with a mocking tone.

Slightly upset about being stuck up where he was, Kale stepped forward and placed his arm around her shoulder. Sam smiled as she moved her arms underneath his and the jets blasted again. Kale's footing was almost lost, but he made it back to the ground quickly and safely, tripping at the last minute. Turning around, he glanced at Sam and smiled a bit beneath his helmet. "Uh, thanks."

"No prob. Now for door number two." Responded Sam as she looked back up.

From out of the cockpit, a gray shadow launched itself forward. The speed it had sent it through the air for one second before it hit a tree and began to slide down. Lucas looked down from the tree as he held on tight, letting himself slide down slowly.

"Why didn't you wait?" asked Sam, placing a hand on her hip as he reached the bottom.

"I'd prefer to launch my own flight, thank you." He said, stepping back from the tree and looking at the group. "Right, we're all here, s-… Oh crap." He said as he looked at his motion tracker on his HUD. Everyone else noticed it too; Two ghosts not that far off from where they were.

"Find cover!" said Marc hushed as he ordered the group to do so. Each individual ran to the forest, not leaving too far from the clearing, but hiding behind the thick trunks of the trees enough to remain hidden.

The patrol group that had been lucky enough to spy the falling Pelican and went to investigate. It consisted of two elites, each riding his own ghost, and each armed with the usual plasma pistol and storm rifle. They came to a stop at the entrance to the clearing, staring up in wonder at the massive steel structure that and looked up. _"Gallua, Are you sure this is what fell from the sky?" _asked a Storm Elite with Deep blue armor.

_"Of course I am, Nu'gal!" _responded a Warrior elite with Yellow armor._ "I was the one firing the AA gun! You think I'd lie about a giant hunk of metal sailing through the sky?"_

_"I suppose not." _Said the Elite as he stared up at the remains. Both of them looked up at it in thought before Nu'gal spoke again. _"Then again, you might have lied just to get credit."_

_"Oh, come on, Nu'gal, you've known me how long now?"_

_"About four years."_

_"Have I ever lied to you?"_ he asked as he continued staring at the massive thing stuck in the trees, not hearing the faintest of footsteps behind him and his friend.

_"Well, there was the time when you wanted to take the Banshee for a Free ride and used it as an excuse for Patrol-"_

_"Anything besides that?"_

_"No, that was it."_

_"There, see? Now… What was I going to say?"_

_"You know, Gallua, I don't see why it has to be us to come all the way out here."_

The Yellow Elite sighed as he walked underneath the gigantic Pelican. _"It has to be us because we can't trust grunts with handling Humans. Now, let's see if we can find them." _They both paused to stare up at the massive remains of the ship.

_"How about we shoot it down?"_ proposed Nu'gal.

Gallua let out what sounded like a chuckle as he leaned against the tree, looking at the Storm elite. _"How about we shoot it down? You really think we can just shoot it down? And even if we could, what would we shoot it with?"_

_"We could try the Ghosts. They have a nasty kick when their weapons hit."_

Gallua paused as he listened to the proposition, thinking about it for a second before nodding. _"You know, that's not a bad idea." _ He said as he turned to pull the ghosts up and hopefully shoot it down. When he looked at the entrance to the clearing, he noticed that the two machines were missing. Looking at the empty places in confusion and slight anger, he let out a sigh. He turned to Nu'gal, who'd just noticed the missing ghosts as well. _"Oh… umm, sorry."_ Was all he could say after looking at the warrior.

_""We can just leave the ghosts in the open!" you said. "It's not like they'll disappear or anything!" Where's our _ride _Nu'gal?"_

* * *

A frown was on General Lamperouge's face as he waited for the communications to come back up. The sad part of the entire ordeal was how slow everything was being fixed. Being sent here to review the entire ordeal, he continued writing on his Data-pad about the flaws and how slow people were being with bringing the communications back online. The crew aboard Infinity was an Unsuitable lot, unfit for duty in this area. His job was to merely find out the holes.

"Commander Palmer, We've got a Signal!"

The voice drew the young officer's attention from his Data-pad as he looked up. He noticed three blips and two more, each clumped together with the other, forming two slightly larger yellow blips that sped through the jungle. Had they hijacked a vehicle? It was much too fast for them to be sprinting. Whatever it was, Lamperouge wanted to listen.

"Fireteam Vulture, do you copy? Anyone respond!" she called into the microphone unit inside her Wrist-pad.

_"Oh, lord, how sweet it is to hear your voice, god from above!" _called the voice of Marc Caelus through the communications channel.

Commander Palmer smiled as she realized that they were still alive from after the crash. "Keep focused, Spartan Caelus, there's no stairway to heaven for you guys just yet. What's your situation?"

_"Well, Commander, I think luck's on our side today!" _A cheer was heard from the other side of the lines as Caelus continued speaking. _"We'd managed to hijack two ghosts without the elites piloting even noticing! I think that deserves a drink when we get back!"_

"Wait until the After-party." Spoke Commander Palmer as she looked back at the Holo-field display, showing the location of the Spartans. It turns out that all of them had managed to divide themselves into good hanging positions onto the ghosts to keep it both steady and balanced enough to drive. "Nice job. Sorry to break up the celebration, but you still have a mission to carry out." She said with a smile as their cheering stopped and they kept moving.

_"You got it commander. I can see the entrance from here. Spartan Caelus over and out. Alright, Fireteam Vulture, Let's roll!"_

Commander Palmer sighed as she clicked the radio off, turning to the General who looked at her with all the seriousness in the world. "General Lamperouge, as I've said before, they're just-"

"They act foolish. Foolishness can get them killed." He said, not looking up from his datapad, turning to look at her. "They'd best be given a re-teaching on Military Behavior upon their return. I also hope to see whether this… unorthodox method of infiltration works out as they've planned." Recoiled the general with a glare at the woman's face.

Commander Palmer paused as she heard his harsh words, looked him over once more before returning to the Holo-field herself to watch the upcoming show.

* * *

The Canyon section of Requiem is a dangerous place to be caught in alone. Rocks littering the cliffs served as Good cover for Jackal Snipers, while the Rough, sandy terrain proved hard to traverse on foot, but easy to speed through with a Ghost, or a Wraith. The different Forerunner structures that littered various caverns all served as some of the best outposts for the Covenant to hold up in while conducting their search.

N'alko walked through the outside courtyard of one of the Forerunner structures, his Zealot armor shining Red beneath the burning 'Sun.' Grunts walked back and forth, each of them arguing about who gets which Plasma Pistol and Needler, but they all got silent until the Zealot walked past before they'd resume their fighting. The red-armored elite wanted to return back inside, where the air was cooler and better suited for someone returning from a Desert walk.

The Sangheili Zealot walked up to the massive doors that glided open almost miraculously, revealing a pair of two elites who didn't give him so much as a nod, but more of a scowl with their eyes. N'alko had took a trip to make sure that his ghost hadn't been damaged. This older model had been painted and modified enough to whereas the fuel tank was no longer on the side of the ghost, but hidden behind the seat. Such a well-designed ghost deserved to be hidden away, where hardly an elite could access it by merely wandering. It was nice working on the ghost, but it felt good returning to the shade.

Field Commander Gek stood at one of the deeper halls. A small crowd of Promethean Knights and other Sangheili gathered around him as he looked on from his podium-like position. _"… We are to each prepare in six teams. Knight Battlewagons will lead send the Crawlers in first, following up behind. Elites are to flank the sight to the Right, while Mal'ka's troop is to cut off their back exit. Everyone understand the plan?"_

While each of the Sangheili and Prometheans there gave a nod to the head officer's words, N'alko stepped forward from the shadows. _"Perhaps I could be of assistance."_ Spoke the Elite. N'alko, having his own squad of Jackal Snipers and Heavies, might perhaps be on the higher ladder of the Covenant's

Gek turned to glance at the Zealot and frowned at him with a look of distaste. _"Shouldn't you be off studying the humans? We haven't any need for a _translator_."_ spoke the Elite, purposefully intending the last word to hurt.

N'alko sighed as he turned and left, not wanting to anger his short-fused superior any more. It was true, back on High Charity, N'alko was possibly the only Elite to study the Human Language and Culture. It was frowned upon, to say the least, but he truthfully wasn't bothered. He followed the path of the sacred journey, but was confused as to why the Humans must do so as well. The only reason he'd joined the resisting movement of the Covenant was to remain considered a follower of the Journey. He'd had plenty of times when the rest of the troops here bothered him about his past, but he'd always pushed them away, preferring to work alone and to study the humans more secretly.

When he was assigned under Field Commander Gek's charge, he didn't expect to be placed on a nearly empty planet, stuck as they searched for something. Instead, he expected to be uncovering more and more Forerunner information. They'd had all the information they needed on the nights, all they needed now was the information about the Artifacts, and that would come soon enough.

Slightly depressed, he walked towards a side-section inside the main hall, leaning against the wall and simply staring ahead as the Knights, Elites, Jackals and Grunts each prepared for another departure, leaving him in the ruins again.

**(A.N: **And there you go! Chapter 4, done and done! This one was a bit hard to write because I couldn't quite think of how to pass this by from Lelouch's perspective, as well as from Fireteam Vulture's, but then I thought what better way to write a chapter than by adding drama?

Anyways, Review question time!

Hagen: Your answers will be revealed in the story. You ask for the future, and not even the Story-writer can give you that.

Saddas74: Lelouch's Military status is that of a UNSC General. He currently lacks a position with ONI, but with his Geass, I'd say accessing their Archives and changing things up a bit won't be that hard of a task for him.

Alright, now that all those are answered, I'll hope to post another chapter tomorrow! As always, Read and Review. See you next time!**)**


	6. Chapter 5: Prep for Launch

**Chapter 5: Prep for Launch**

Kallen walked into the Female Locker Rooms, hesitant to move her arms and legs as she breathed in and out slowly. The different injections she'd had just recently inserted into her body to protect from harmful radiation or chemicals had burnt her skin on the way through. She moved her hands to touch her forearm and winced in pain as she pulled it back, the skin stinging. "Shit, that hurts!" she said, taking a seat on a bench.

She looked around the locker room covered in bathroom tiling. The walls were a purest white made of the same tile as the entire bathroom looked to be made of the same kind of metal tile. Kallen paused as she looked around the locker aisle she currently sat in and saw, at the end of the aisle, two lockers with brand new labels at the top. She slowly stood up and walked over to the lockers, raising her now-cooling skin to the name-tag, smiling a bit as she saw her name.

"KALLEN K."

Looking at the locker, she opened it up to spy a Clothing-bag hanging from the roof of the locker. She trailed her finger along the rough fabric, thinking about what was inside. She was about to open it before she looked towards the door. C.C was still being injected to protect herself from anything that might damage her on the passage through. Rakshata was ruthless in trying to protect these people. It'd be a while before she came in here. She currently had the locker room alone.

Glancing around the aisle a bit, she noticed to her right, a shower station sat, awaiting its next customer. Wanting to get the burning sensation off of her skin, she began removing her clothes from the outwards in, piece by piece, before standing completely naked. She sighed as she walked towards the shower, turned it on and waited for the cold water to burn warm again. Once she saw steam coming from over the curtain rod, she stepped behind it, into the running water, and stood in the water, secluded by the curtain.

The warm water felt good on her skin. It didn't get rid of the chemicals that had been inserted into her body, but it did ease the burning. She sighed as she merely stood in the water. Travelling to a new planet is just insane. Maybe she should just stay here and live a normal student's life. It'd be easier that way. Getting up, going to school, doing homework, coming home and sleeping. That would be possibly one of the most normal lives in the world.

_If only it was that easy._

Kallen would sigh as she stretched her arms and began to brush the water through her hair. She was conflicted about what she wanted to do. Whether it was fighting for the greater good, or living a normal school life. She just couldn't decide which she wanted more. She'd always been a rebel, but sometimes, things got tough, and she didn't want them too. Whenever they did though, He would always be there for her. Perhaps that's why she wanted both activities. He was there for both sides, but now that he wasn't, it was time for her to decide which one was better, and she just couldn't do that.

Kallen would have thought more on the subject before feeling a pair of feminine arms wrap around her stomach and a body press close against her back. Her body froze up in embarrassment as the feminine hands of C.C moved up her body, fondling her breasts playfully and moving her other hand to her hip. "Taking a shower before the trip?"

"C.C…" Spoke Kallen in an infuriated voice. "Get your perverted hands off me."

C.C sighed as she stood back, letting Kallen receive the rest of the shower. "You know, you're no fun." She said, leaving Kallen's shower area. A Creak could be heard as she opened her own locker and took out the same bag Kallen had in hers. Kallen didn't know what caused the girl to change from the innocent thing she used to be, but perhaps traveling had turned her into the more playful girl now.

"I know you're debating about whether to go or not." Spoke C.C from the other side of the shower curtain.

Kallen stopped to listen to her words. C.C Might be a witch, but she wasn't a mind-reader. "How come?"

"You love him." She said as she began to suit-up herself. "You think you know what he'd want from you, and you think that by staying, you'll fulfill his wish for you to stay alive."

Kallen continued listening before exiting the shower herself, quickly grabbing the towel at the bottom of her locker before C.C could turn around from changing. Wrapping it around her body, she grabbed the bag inside her locker and walked to the other side of the lockers to make sure she could change in privacy. "Well… Perhaps I do want to stay…"

"No, you don't."

Kallen opened the bag and paused, looking at the sight inside it. A slight smile came to her face as she laughed slightly. Inside the bag was her old pilot suit. The same she used to pilot the Guren Mk-II. The memories brought back inside the great machine of hers made her smile. Such a great time in her life had been caused by such a horrid time in history. Slightly ironic, but perhaps it was for the best. She looked at the suit, held it up in front of her and smiled.

_Time to go._

* * *

The other team members of the group were already dressed when the two finished dressing in the locker rooms. The suits they all wore looked much like the ones they'd wear when piloting the Knightmare frame. They stood outside in the main room, looking down at each other and listening to Rakshata as she spoke to them. Kallen and C.C Approached and tried to catch what she was saying.

"These suits are a brand new improvement of the old Knightmare Pilots. The Fibers are made from a special batch of incredibly malleable metal that's been interfused with Radiation-protective materials to give it a smooth, silk-like feel to it. They're Radiation-resistant, so there shouldn't be any effects during the travel, and they're bullet proof."

"So in other words," questioned Ohgi. "We could run into the middle of a Firing range and come out alive?"

"Not neccesarily." Responded Rakshata. "They might be Bulletproof, but all fabric wears and tears eventually. Besides, those bullets give a nasty kick." She said with a smirk.

"Well, let's not get caught in a firing range, then." Said Kallen as she and C.C approached the gathering group. Rakshata smiled at their arrival and looked around. "Perfect! Everyone's here then! Now, we can get started!"

Kallen glanced at the three other males of the group and eyed their suits. They looked like Pilot suits as well, Ohgi's being a Deep greyish black, with hints of the Black Knights entailed into the pattern. Suzaku's was the same as his Lancelot uniform, White with Gold patterns, while Jeremiah's, Ironically, was a Deep Blue with Tints of Orange along the shoulders and sides. C.C's own suit was a pure white with grey accents that made her ready to travel.

"Now, in case you three arrive where there isn't a well-enough supply of oxygen, we've packed helmets suited for such environments, able to provide a good two-hour limit of oxygen where there is none." Spoke the scientist with a smile. "So Count your minutes carefully!" she said as a man wheeled in a set of five helmets.

Kallen froze as she stared at the helmets. They were nearly identical to Zero's mask, the only difference being that each Geass symbol below the main dome was a different color. One orange, one gold, one red, one green and one light gray. The masks reminded Kallen of Zero's stare when he advised her, criticized her, it was a bit unnerving, but she managed to push past it, walking up to it and taking the red helmet, donning it over her face. She looked through the purple dome and noticed that a bar was on the right side that flashed as if it was electronic. "Uhh, Rakshata? What's this bar on the side of the helmet?" she asked as everyone else followed her lead and grabbed their respective helmets.

"Hmm? Oh, that's just your oxygen meter. It shows itself when you activate the oxygen." She said, walking over to Kallen's helmet and pressing a button behind her lower-left fin, the bar disappearing. "Once the oxygen's off, it refills itself when it senses oxygen, so you should be just fine."

While Jeremiah and the others donned their helmets, (Jeremiah's mask having a small trouble fitting in his helmet,) Rakshata began to speak to them. "One of the vaccines you four received had a vital-scanner inside. We've hooked up your vital signs to Jeremiah, so he can keep track of how you all are faring in the Terrain. We've also added Comm-systems to your helmet, but the channel will change after the transport. You'll need to re-contact us when you reach the planet."

"Got it." Spoke Jeremiah, finally fitting his helmet on his head. "I'll work on contacting you upon our arrival."

They all glanced between each other, the strange team of Zeros ready to venture into the new unknown world. "I think we're ready, then." Spoke Kallen as she nodded, turning to Rakshata. "If we're going to survive for about two weeks, we're going to need food and shelter, right?"

"That's right, commander Kozuki," interrupted Lloyd as he walked up to Kallen. He trudged across the four, carrying five bags over his shoulder. The bags were a shining, silvery color, and seemed to look as if they were made of tin foil. "Specially designed bags!" called the eccentric scientist. "Fit to keep cold air in Volcanic Craters, and Warm air in Arctic Poles! This trip is going to be quite an excitement if everything proves to hold up!" Said Lloyd as he passed out the bags from person to person. "Each has enough food and water for two weeks' time, while the bag itself can be folded into a tent with the instructions given!" It's a cozy enough place for two people, but try not to lose it, okay?

"Wait. 'Commander'?" inquired Kallen, confused about why Lloyd called her the official title.

"Didn't we tell you?" he said as he passed her the final silver bag. "You're the head officer on this mission! I thought that was how they convinced you to join in the first place!"

Kallen paused as she looked at the other four. She couldn't see their faces, but she could tell they were smiling as they all strung the bags over their shoulders. That's when the reason became clear. The reason they wanted her to come and tried to convince her in the first place. They needed a commander. "B-but, I'm not leadership material!" she said, trying to explain that to the group. "I'm better at following orders, not giving them."

Lloyd sighed as he looked at her. "Miss Kozuki, you've the most experience following Zero. You'd know what tactics he'd use and what strategies he'd concoct to win! If you do encounter some sort of life in that world, and they turn out to be dangerous, you'd be the best bet to come back alive!"

Kallen paused as she thought about what Lloyd said. It was true that she did have the most experience following Zero, and perhaps having such tactical knowledge would help in the long run. The only thing that unnerved her was the fact Lloyd said there might be other life already there. If there was life there, and it was dangerous, then she might not know what to do. It was also true that she was good at Military tactics, but only when a specific goal was set in mind.

"Well, you have all the materials you need, so I wish you good luck!" called Lloyd to the group as he and the other scientists walked to the airlock. "Clear the floor! Activating Pillars in 60 seconds!"

While each person evacuated the hangar bay, the team of five made sure their silver bags and helmets were secure, looking at the strange arch as it lowered to the ground. They all approached a reasonable distance from the structure, taking a look as they waited for it all to begin.

"You can still leave, you know." Spoke Suzaku, who stood right beside her, glancing at her as they all formed a line in front of the pillars. "You can just walk out. I'll take your position as commander."

"Thanks," responded the new commander. "But you guys need me. Besides, I need to… move on… for him."

"Tuning the Pillars to the Disturbance, now!" called Nina over the speakers. "Once the structure appears, you should just walk through it. If everything goes right, you should be fine."

The Pillars began to crackle and sparkle with blue electricity. The arch above began to glow a light blue as the entire structure seemed to glow with power. Below the two pillars, what looked like the base of an upside-down whirlpool began to churn, the spinning walls curving inwards and stretching upwards, instead of downwards.

Kallen turned from the group to look at the portal. She stepped forward a bit, slightly nervous "Anyone having second thoughts?" she asked, glancing around at the faces.

None of them responded and simply stared at the wonder before them.

"Right." She said, nervously, as each of them grabbed hands. "Altogether now…"

She swallowed her remaining saliva in her mouth, summoned up the rest of her courage and stepped between the two pillars, the blue whirlpool of light enveloping her completely.

Then she was gone.

* * *

Kallen could feel it. She could feel the entirety of her atoms pulled back, as if something held her in place. The atoms in her body were almost falling apart themselves! She could feel every single molecule of her entire being separate at once. The Dragging of her atoms across time, space, wherever she was moving through, could be felt by each neural receiver in them.

Then it collided again! The atoms forcing themselves back into her feet, her legs, torso, arms, and finally into her head, where a crashing headache bombarded her. "Gah!" she cried in pain, falling to her knees and grasping her helmet tightly. "Fuck! That hurts!" she called to no-one in particular.

"Is everyone alright?"

The voice that spoke sounded familiar, but her head was throbbing so much that when she looked around, all she saw was a tan and blue blur through her helmet. "Here!" she spoke as her vision slowly began to adjust. Similar cries of pain were heard nearby, and for a second, she thought they were people whom she didn't recognize, but as her vision cleared up, so did her hearing. She looked at the group through her helmet and blinked. She could see the suits of Suzaku and C.C on the ground, while Ohgi was lying on some kind of rock. Jeremiah held himself up on a larger stone as he looked around. "All of your Vital signs are stabilizing. We made it."

The area where they appeared in was quite strange. It appeared to be a large canyon-like place. Kallen glanced around and saw that the rocks ranged in color from a deep brown to a deep tan, the tall ones providing the only shade from the bright light above them. A small, hot breeze blew, the"Man…Rough ride."

"You said it." Spoke Suzaku as he stood up and brushed himself off, the zero helmet on top of his pilot suit looking a bit odd. "Jeremiah, how're the oxygen levels?"

"Working on that now." Responded the cyborg as he stood up and looked around, his stability having returned to him. He nodded over to Kallen. "Sufficient amounts of Oxygen for us to breathe." He said with a nod as he removed his helmet. "Alright then, how is everyone?" He asked as he breathed in the oxygen-suited air.

"Fine." Spoke C.C as she was helped up by Suzaku. She brushed her suit off and began to remove her helmet.

"I'm good." Spoke Ohgi as he sat up. "Just a pounding Migraine." He said, grasping his helmet a bit before trying to shake it off.

While the others removed their helmets, Kallen did so as well. She breathed in and out, smelling the strange smell of pure oxygen. "Alright, It seems everyone's survived the transport. First thing's first, let's get a lay of the land." She said as she turned around and looked down the rest of the tan ravine.

"I'll try and contact the lab." Spoke Jeremiah as he fiddled with the communications system on his helmet, holding it in front of him. Kallen nodded as she walked away from the group a little bit, reaching the edge of the small ledge they stood on.

The ground stretched onwards, rocks being littered like trash in a dump. It was relatively empty, hardly anything moving. Kallen thought about what would happen if people moved to this planet. It would serve as a good place, be it a little hot, but they could construct suitable buildings. Perhaps this could help with lack of resources in the world. A smirk came to her face as she thought about moving here. In this heat? Not a chance. She'd prefer to stay back with her mother and friends. Ashford academy beat this wasteland any day.

She paused as she finally saw something moving from a rock. It looked almost a shade of purple with a blue light behind it. It seemed to almost hover over the ground as it sailed across it. Whatever it was, Kallen could tell that it wasn't good.

"Hey guys, do you see that?" She said, pointing to the strange purple speck in the distance.

She didn't hear a response.

"Guys, what-" She turned around to speak better to the group, but only saw the blunt edge of some kind of weapon before she blacked out.

* * *

The Storm Elite knocked the last of the humans unconscious. He held his Covenant Carbine in his hand and looked down at their strange bodies. The

He remembered the orders assigned from Gek to all the elites.

_Anyone from the Canyon is to be brought in alive for interrogation. We need to learn what the humans are up to._

He scowled at the thought of letting the humans live, but turned to the three Jackals that had helped him in this process, two with blue shields, and one with the Red-dot helmet of a Sniper. _"You three, carry the humans to the Wraith. We'll take them back to the outpost." _The three looked between each other as if confused before the elite shouted at them. _"That means NOW!"_

The Jackals quickly jumped and worked on moving the humans, one Jackal dragging a human along the canyon floor. The Elite walked over to the strange green-haired human, hefting her over his shoulder before doing the same to the Red-haired human before walking back to the gigantic tank hidden behind a set of rocks.

It was time for the Covenant to learn a thing or two about the Humans.

**(A.N: **Whew! Another chapter done and delivered! This one might not be as good as the other ones, but I wanted to get the group to at least Requiem in this chapter and have them captured. Anyways, thank you guys for the Reviews, it does help me keep going. Any other questions, I'll Anyways, Question time again!

Saddas74: for Fireteams Crimson and Majestic appearing in the story, the chances are _slim_ if at all. This story is meant as a prologue before the Spartan Ops: Campaign. It's intended to show what happened before the other Fireteams arrived, and I shall try to keep it as close to the Spartan Ops: storyline as I possibly can.

Anyways, keep on reviewing and reading! Catch you guys with the next chapter!**)**


	7. Chapter 6: Clearing the Comms

**Chapter 6: Clearing the Comms**

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea!" called Lucas over Fireteam Vulture's channel.

Blasts echoed from all over where Fireteam Vulture was positioned. They'd managed to burst through the door with their two ghosts and splatter a few bothersome jackals and grunts, but they were unable to venture any farther with the vehicles and decided to leave them. They slowly ventured through with Z's Hardlight shield and Kale's Regeneration field. They'd slowly curved around through the front entrance and had reached the main hall, but all of them quickly dove for cover as a fuel rod blast flew past their heads, just barely missing Lucas. The four Hunters in the hall began blasting away while Elites fired Plasma Cannons from a bridge spanning the upper reach of the hall.

That's where they were; stranded behind a wall that barely fit all of them, each waiting for a chance to get out from behind and move to a better-suited position.

"Lucas! How many are there?" called Marc from the channel, hoping for some good news.

The light on the side of Lucas' helmet started flickering red as his Promethean Vision turned on. "I count four Hunters out there on the ground, six Elites on the Bridge, and nineteen-no… twenty Grunts. Thankfully, Knights are off duty."

Z scoffed over the channel as she smiled inside her helmet. "I've had worse odds."

Marc sighed as he scanned through all the thoughts in his head, all the attack patterns he and his team had practiced. A Smile came to his face as he thought of an idea. "Lucas, you see any fuel rod cannons out there?"

"Umm, yeah. Ammo station, one 'o clock. Two plasma pistols with it too."

"Great, that's all I need." He said as he looked at the group. "Alright team, Ground-cover plan D-Sigma."

"But we're not outside." Spoke Samantha as she looked at the roof. "Are you sure it'll work? This plan is based on desert environments, not inside a forerunner structure."

"Well, improvise." He said with a smile as he looked at his team members. "Alright team, let's go!"

All at once, the firing erupted again. Z and Lucas sped off to the Right, Z's shield protecting the male as he aimed carefully for each Grunt on the floor below, getting headshot after headshot. While Kale headed off to the right. He was fired at little, Z and Lucas drawing the greater amount of attention as they each covered each other. Samantha quickly jumped on top of the cover they were hiding behind and activated her jetpack, moving forwards, flying upwards towards the floating bridge. Marc's movement was the riskiest one of all; his thruster pack sending him right in the middle of the group of Hunters.

Kale parked himself on a cover at the end of the bridge hiding and waiting for his shields to recharge fully. Lucas sped past Z as he headed towards the other side of the room, tossing a grenade down towards a Grunt's head. The grunt had just lit a Plasma Grenade and was aiming for Marc, but the incoming grenade hit his arm in mid-swing, sending the grenade towards a chink in one of the Hunters' Backs. When it exploded, its protective shielding flew off and hit one grunt to the side. "That makes Seven." He said as his shields finally hit zero, and he dove for the cover opposite their original position on the other side of the room.

Z was faring just as well, her Hard-light shield protecting her from the Elites enough for her to get close enough to fire at one that was distracted by Samantha's flying. She tossed a Frag grenade towards a set of three Elites who were focused on getting that bird out of the air as the flying girl shot the ones on the other side of the bridge, aiming down at Marc and Lucas. She managed to shoot one's shields out with her covenant carbine and smiled as she landed on top of him, taking out her knife and assassinating him. The other two elites were caught off guard and turned towards her, breaking off the plasma cannon from their stands as they aimed at her, but she was too fast, rocketing upwards, over the ledge.

Marc had the hardest time. Two hunters charged their Fuel rod cannons the closer he got and fired. Just barely making it out of the way with his thruster pack, he boosted behind a hunter and tossed a sticky in the chink behind his back plating, causing his insides to blow up. Sadly, the Hunter didn't fall just yet. It swung around, flinging its shield to try and smack the human away, but Marc smiled as he activated his thruster pack on contact with the shield, sending him flying towards a second hunter, who was now turning angrily to the Grunt that had just blown away its protective shielding. Marc smiled as he landed on its shoulders and began pouring bullet after bullet from his battle rifle into its back. The resulting explosion from Lucas' Frag Grenade caused the first Hunter to raise its shield in defense as two more grunts were blown away.

Z smiled at the chaos as she herself blasted away at the elites. She'd gained the attention of two, one of which charged at her, pulling out an energy sword. Protective of her life, she activated her Hardlight shield just as it Lunged. Happily, its grip on the sword was weak, letting it fly out of its hand. Before it could pull out its storm Rifle again, Z stuck a knife through its shield, straight through its neck, letting it fall to the ground. The second Elite picked up the First's Energy sword, its shields quickly depleting from Z's Fire. She would have blown his head off, had she not run out of bullets at that minute. While she reloaded, the Elite smiled as it activated the two beams of plasma coming out of both sides of the sword. She wasn't fast enough as the Elite approached her, ready for the kill.

Kale was Faster though. He shot through the Elite's skull with his DMR, smiling behind his helmet. "You're welcome, Z!" he called over the Communications system as they'd continue eliminating the Elites.

While there were still three Elites to be dealt with above, Sam was descending as she ran out of energy for her Jetpack and looked down to spy Marc. She smiled as she tossed down a Plasma Grenade at the now oncoming Grunt, who had strategically placed himself beside one of the Hunters. The grenade sticking itself right onto its respirator, the Grunt Yelled in fear as it ran towards the Hunter, hoping to get it off, but the Grenade blew, blasting the last bit of life out of the Third Hunter, leaving only the Second and Fourth Hunters left. "Marc!"

The Fireteam's leader looked up at Sam, and smiled as he nodded to her, backing away from her landing spot. "Head for Cover! There's one behind me!" He said as he grabbed two dropped Plasma grenades from a dead Grunt. Smiling, he used his thruster pack to blast forward between the two behemoths, sticking the glowing blue grenades to both of the creature's shoulders. The massive creatures began to turn towards the fast Spartan, but the Grenades exploded just in time, blasting the life out of them. Marc wasn't fast enough though, and was blasted by the shock of the exploding grenades, getting sent flying as his shields crashed to zero, landing right behind a cover-spot beneath the bridge.

"Got it!" she called back to Marc after landing and kept firing back, ducking behind a two-way cover that blocked fire from Lucas and Marc. She looked around the corner of her cover as she let her shields recharge after fizzling out before turning to see a better view from the other side of her cover. She paused as she came face to face with two wide-eyed grunts who stared at her. They stared for nearly a second before one started blasting her with a plasma pistol. The pistol didn't do much damage besides singe her armor, but her Carbine delivered the two headshots to the pests as she walked over their bodies and began flying upwards. Her jetpack had recharged enough to allow her to reach the bridge again and continue shooting the shields off of another Elite, before passing another Neck-shot with her Covenant Carbine. "Two elites left!" she called over the channel.

"They're mine." Spoke Z as she blasted one's shields and life away with her battle rifle. She began to feel incoming fire from another Elite's Plasma cannon. Turning to it, she tossed a frag grenade towards it. Not surprisingly, it leaped to the left, out of the way and continued its assault. The Grenade hit the Corner the elite stood in front of, and followed its target's movement, exploding right next to it, destroying its shields, as one blast from her Assault rifle took the last one down. "All Clear on Elites!" She called through the Channel as she took a few deep breaths.

"Hunters are gone too." Replied Marc as his shields recharged again and he began to take out the Grunts, one by one, headshot by headshot. "Lucas, how're you faring?" he called after shooting the last of his grunts on that side. He turned to look at Lucas and smirked as he saw the comedic sight.

Lucas frowned as he fired at a trio of grunts, each holding one lit plasma grenade per hand. "No. No. Drop it! Drop it!" he called to them like a dog after each shot. the grunts only backed up as they were hit before the one in front finally went down. The grenades in his hand blasted the other two off to the sides of the ledge and away from his position. Lucas paused as he looked around, spying that all the enemies were taken care of. "Everyone alright?" called the voice of Marc in his helmet.

"Fine." Responded Z from her helmet.

"Here, boss." Spoke Lucas raising his hand to Marc from his spot of cover.

"I'm good." Replied Kale as he walked down the side ramp towards Marc.

"A Bit Tired, but I survived." Responded the voice of Sam as she Jet packed down to the bottom floor, heading towards Lucas. The group smiled as Lucas himself, sat down right where he was and clutched the side of his helmet. "Man… Now _that's_ what I call a rush!"

* * *

General Lamperouge continued staring at the five remaining blips on the zoomed in map. He smiled inwardly as he saw the unorthodox plan. It was true the plan was risky, but they'd pulled it off. Perhaps the Miracles of Zero had followed him after all. The team had pulled off a miracle in a closed area. They would have made a fantastic addition to the Black Knights when… No, he wouldn't think about his old life. This was where he lived now. This is where he begins a new era.

"You don't have time to rest yet, Vulture." Spoke Commander Palmer as she walked over to the Holo-field. "You still have to find the Transmitter."

_"You mean this thing?"_

Commander Palmer looked at the map and frowned as the orange ordnance blip showed up on the field, signaling the transmitter, which was right besides where Lucas was, and where the group began to converge. _"I noticed it when I took cover."_

"Right… " Sighed Commander Palmer at the slowness of the machine. She glanced over to the General who looked at her with disapproval before writing on his Data-pad. "Lucas, see if you can get a signal from it."

_"Already on it, Commander."_

General Lamperouge walked besides Commander Palmer and stared at the display. "Commander Palmer, I advise a stricter training regime for this Fireteam once they've finished this mission."

"Sir, with all due respect," retaliated the Commander. "I'm the one in command of the Spartans, and I-"

"-And _I_ am given charge of determining whether Infinity's future is one of _success_ or _failure_!" He responded to her with a slight yell, getting most of the other workers' attention while she didn't flinch one bit at the General's words. "My revisions are to be followed, or Infinity will be brought up for recall upon my final report. Do I make myself clear…? Commander?" he said coldly, staring at her.

Commander Palmer listened as she looked at him, nodding as she heard the words from her higher-ranked officer. "Yes… sir." She responded with the tone of a soldier.

Looking her over once more, General Lamperouge turned to the Holo-field display and spoke to no-one as he waited on the group to follow orders, and a signal appear. "Roland. Once they've received a signal, make sure we can hear it."

"Yes sir," responded the A.I with a nod, turning his own orange gaze back to the yellow blips, awaiting the Signal to be heard from their Helmet's feed.

* * *

Lucas sighed as he got to work on the Covenant Radio-transmission. He pulled out a device that looked like a Sticky launcher, but it had a set of cables which he pulled out and began to hook up to the large, purple device with a blue, oval screen. "alright buddy." He said to the machine. "Let's see what you're holding out on us."

The group had sat down to rest. After being checked by Kale, Lucas had been sent to decode the transmission data that flowed through the machine to other Elites. Kale continued to go through routine Medical checks with the other members of his team and was now working on Z. The woman had removed her helmet and looked into his Flashlight as he checked her eyes. "Real good job out there, Z."

"You saved my life." She said bluntly, her eyes showing her usual strict expression. "You needn't have done that."

"I know," he said as he finished checking her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "But I wanted to." He said with a smile.

"I should have been faster." Spoke Marc to himself as he sat on the edge, hands on his knees and Battle-rifle pointed down at the ground. "I should have stuck them sooner. I would have made it."

"Marc." Spoke Sam as she walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up over this. You defeated them, you're alive. That's what matters."

"Yeah, but if there was a wall in the way, I could have died." He responded to her quickly. He sighed as he stared down at the butt of his rifle. "I need to be better."

"You were Fine, boss." Spoke Lucas as he continued tuning the device in his hands. "Don't worry about it."

"If we're not fast enough, not strong enough, not tough enough, then they'll put us back on the front lines as Marines." He said as if dreading becoming one again. "We're all lucky enough to survive the first Human-Covenant war." He stood up and looked around at the group. "What were you guys before Spartans?"

"I…" said Lucas as he continued tuning. "Was a Marine. Sniper."

"I was a Combat medic." Responded Kale as he turned to Marc.

"Marine, Front Lines." Spoke Z as she donned her helmet again.

"ODST." Spoke Sam as she looked at Marc, ending the circle of jobs.

"And how many people did you know who got killed during your service?"

Everyone was silent. No-body spoke as they all glanced downwards, solemnly mourning the loss of their comrades and friends who'd risked their lives in the war and lost them.

"Yeah… That's what I thought…" spoke Marc as he sat down again. "I was like Z. I was a Marine on the front lines. I was possibly one of the fastest in the group. I had to know when to run away from a fight and when to run into it. They noticed my speed. That's why they made me leader of a Squad. They made me the leader because I know when to run into a fight and when to retreat.

"When I was on the front lines, I'd lost so many of my Friends in the war. I'm the only survivor of a troop of 500. I got to watch all of them die one by one and be replaced by others. You all lost comrades, friends in your troop or squad. Look at what we did!" he said, moving his hand to the piles of dead Elites and Grunts scattering the floor and bridge. "Five people annihilated an entire outpost of Elites, Grunts and Hunters. If we get sent back from being Spartans... Well, I don't think Life is an option anymore."

Everyone paused as they thought about what he said. The grim words of their leader were the truth. They all believed it, because they all experienced it. Each one of them lost people during the war, and each one of them had been recruited into the Spartan-IV program based on their talents. To be noticed out of hundreds of thousands of marines was a privilege. To be granted rewards for it and to fail with those rewards would mean that being a Spartan won't be an option anymore. They'd be demoted to Marines, and most likely be put on the front lines again, where they'd be more bones amongst the dead. "We're Vultures." Said Marc to the group after they'd thought about it. "Survivors amongst the dead, because we feed off of killing them."

The device in Lucas' hands began to beep as sound could finally be heard coming from it. Strange sounds and grunts of the Sangheilios Language.. "There we go." He said with a smile. "Command, I think if you want the jump on them, now's a good time to tune in."

* * *

Lelouch paused as he heard the language of the Elites over the Radio. The words were jumbled vowels and consonants, each sounding strange to the human ear and being nothing but jumbled up code, alien language. To most humans, the language of the Sangheili would be dismissed as unimportant to learn, and wouldn't be needed save for communications officers.

But to someone who's trained in the language…

"Get Dr. Glassman in here." Spoke Lasky as he looked at Roland. "We need someone to translate Sangheili, and he's the best specia-"

"No need. I speak Sangheili." Interrupted the general as he began listening.

Commander Palmer was surprised at the General's interruption and raised an eyebrow scrutinizing him. "You speak Sangheili?"

"How do you think I got a General's position at such a young age?" he said, giving her his signature glare in response.

Turning back to look straightforward, he listened to them speak over the communications channel. It as a bit static after coming through two different receivers, but he could hear it nonetheless. Hearing what they were saying, he began to speak nearly in time with their words. " "We've encountered humans near the Outpost. We've captured them as instructed and are bringing them in for interrogation." "

Lasky sighed as he placed his hands on the edge of the Holo-fields display table. "They're going to get the jump on us before we could even try."

"Lucas. Triangulate that signal." Ordered Palmer as the display from his device showed up in the bottom-right corner of the display. "We need to find out what group was taken and where they're being held."

_"On it now, captain."_

General Lamperouge would continue to look at the screen in the bottom right corner. He stared at the image of the planet, certain points beginning to pop up all over before a red dot appeared and zoomed in on a certain spot. "The Canyon region…" he said in thought, turning to Lasky. "Captain, do you have any forces out that far?"

Lasky stared at the image puzzled. "Not that I've assigned, no." He said as he glanced to Palmer.

"Something strange is going on." Spoke Palmer.

"My thoughts Exactly." Countered General Lamperouge as he stood up and walked off to the side. "You'd best take care of it then, Commander. Lack of security on your troops is bad for a Performance review." He said, turning to the two of them.

"Don't write anything just yet, General." Interrupted Lasky. "We haven't even assured that they're our troops."

"Well then, best make sure soon." He said to both of them, standing stil and scanning the Holo-field as it zoomed out to get a wider view of where Fireteam Vulture was in comparison to the point in the Canyon.

Commander Palmer scowled at him before turning to Roland. "Roland. Send a Pelican to pick up vulture and take them a klik outside of that location. We don't want them knowing we're onto them just yet." She barked at him before turning back to the General. "We'll find out who they are, I can promise you that, general."

"I hope so." He said as he didn't move an inch, his gaze drifting into the map of Requiem.

**(A.N: **I feel that this is one of my best chapters yet! Possibly the first full-on fight scene I've written, and I feel pretty good about it. I'd really like reviews on how it was. Anyways, time for "Author Answers!"

…

There aren't any questions to answer!

Well, If there are questions at the end of a chapter, ask them in reviews, and I'll try to answer them in my next commentary. I'll only answer ten at a time though, that is, if there are ten to answer. Anyways, see you guys with my next chapter!**)**


	8. Chapter 7: The Other Side of the Coin

**Chapter 7: The Other Side of the Coin**

_What the fuck happened?_

Kallen's head was throbbing. It hurt like hell. The last thing she remembered was that the group had stepped through the portal. She looked around her surroundings curiously. The small room she was in didn't look man-made. The silvery metal that lined the walls looked like it had molded with care and precision to look more or less like stretching lines. The

She looked down at where she was and noticed that her ankles were linked together by some sort of cuffs. They were the same silver as the structure forming the room, but a light-blue light connected the two cuffs to bases at the ground. She tried to pull her feet away, but the blue-light chain wouldn't budge. She glanced up, spying another light-blue light, reflecting off the walls and brightening the room.

Then it hit her. She remembered what happened. They arrived in a Canyon-like place. Everyone had survived, but she saw something. What was it? She tried to remember, but it just made her head hurt more. Looking once more to survey her surroundings, she saw near the back of the strange room, a blue wall sat. It looked as if it might have been made of some type of glass, but it glowed as if it was some sort of shield covering the doorway.

That's when the thing walked in. The blue light disappeared from the door as it walked in. It was tall, nearly eight feet entirely, and had leathery-brown skin. She froze as it entered the room, staring at the creature. Its yellowish eyes turned to look at her and glare as its four mandibles breathed out a heavy breath of air. It was armored with a strange type of smooth metal that was placed on strategic points of its body. The thing glared deeply at her before it began to approach her.

Afraid for her life, she backed up, not getting very far, because her ankles stayed in place. The thing trampled the ground until it was merely an inch from her anchored position, looking directly at her panicked face. "What…" she began to stutter. "What the hell!?"

"Gusar'go makal estra. Ilko Nomalgama?"

The strange language that came from the thing's jaw made Kallen blink in confusion. "What, I… I don't under-"

"Nomalgama!" said the thing, slamming its fist into the wall angrily, looking directly at her with vicious eyes. Kallen didn't know what, but she could sense something familiar in those eyes. They were the Eyes of a Soldier; eyes that had seen anger, rage, war, bloodshed. Those yellow orbs weren't playing around, but she didn't understand. It sounded as if he wanted something from her, but she couldn't tell what.

"I don't understand what you're talking about! Where am I?" she said, her tone getting angry as she looked at him. "What have you done to my friends!"

The thing snarled at her, reaching by its thigh and removing a strange rod. It was grooved to fit in the things hand, where it could hold it properly, and seemed to be some kind of reverse Brass Knuckle, without the rings. That's when the two beams of bright blue light beamed out of the sides forming some kind of glowing, double-bladed sword. The creature stuck the thing directly beside her neck. "Nomalgama! Nomalgama!" It said repeatedly, wanting her to say something.

Kallen froze as the thing prepared to kill her. She could feel heat emanating from the sword as it was close to her neck and ready to decapitate her. She paused as she thought of what to do, began running each thought in her head on how to get out of this before looking at him and keeping her face straight. "No."

The monster's eyes widened as it pulled the sword back and was about to swing, preparing to deliver the fatal blow. Kallen closed her eyes as she raised her arms, hoping for a vain

* * *

_"What do you think you were doing, Las?"_

The Elite General angrily grasped the Infantry's arm, causing the sword to retract and fall out of his hand. Turning back in surprise, the elite noticed the yellow armor of the Elite's higher rank and froze. _"Commander Gow! I… was merely interrog-"_

_"You were trying to execute the prisoner yourself?"_ spoke the Elite as he glanced at the cowering, red-haired female sitting against the wall. She had yet to remove her arms, and hadn't noticed what had happened. _"Or were you merely showing your sword as a friendly gesture?"_

_"I don't see why we have to keep them alive!" _He said angrily, looking at the official. _"They're filth! We need to cleanse all of them that we can!"_

_"That is exactly why you are placed on the Battlefield, Las!" _he said angrily, grabbing the thing's chest-piece and throwing him against the wall. Slightly surprised, the Elite Infantry didn't stand a chance as the General started to talk to him quietly.

_"Now listen. I hate the humans as much as you do. I'd have killed them without a second thought, had they landed in my care. But, seeing as they appeared through an _unregistered_ Slipspace jump, having absolutely _no_ shielding, well, we need to know just what the humans have discovered. If they can use unregistered Slipspace jumps without us knowing, then those on the front line will be those who are killed by surprise attacks from the humans. You don't want that, now do you?"_

Las paused as he thought of what would happen if he were to be killed from a surprise attack by one measly human. The thought upset him and brought his mouth to emit a growl. _"No, sir."_

_"Then I suggest you get back to Patrol… And don't you worry about interrogating them. Leave it to the Higher-ups… That's an order."_

As the yellow-armored elite let the infantry go, he glared at him warily. Walking slowly to the human, who had lowered her arms and backed up against the wall, he grabbed his Energy Sword and holstered it before walking outside, the shield remaining down as the Yellow-armored Elite took one last glance at the female before leaving himself, the light reappearing.

Breathing in and out, the Red-haired human pulled her knees into her chest and sat there, worriedly trying to think of exactly what the hell was going on.

* * *

_"I say we kill them and get them off our hands!"_

Gek sat in the deep hall of the Forerunner structure on the ledge, looking down at the Elite who spoke. He'd called this meeting of the higher Elites and Knights. Each one had their own opinion with what to do on the Humans. _"No, Sugeth."_ He said. _"If we do kill them, we might lose the only source of information we can get on the Humans' plan."_

_"What about torture? It's a means of information retrieval they'd understand!"_ spoke an Elite raising a fist that lacked a finger, having a stub where it would be. The Knight to the same Elite's left let out a buzzing cry as it raised its lance with a nod of approval.

_"Torture would suffice, but you shan't be the one to do it!" _spoke Gek. He groaned as he placed his palm on his face. _"If we are to have someone torture the human, they must not be one who has a personal vendetta against them."_

_"We all have a personal vendetta!" _cried one of the Elite Zealots with a raising of his fist. _"Let us send them on their journey and be done with it all!"_

Gek groaned once more as he slammed his fist on the rail of where he stood, overviewing the group. _"No, that's… That's not what I meant." _These Covenant were too devoted to their religion to see the problems presented to them. The Humans had managed to appear before the Covenant base using an unregistered Slipspace signature. He wouldn't have believed it, had the patrol that hadn't brought them in seen it with his own eyes. Now that the humans had managed to venture through Slipspace without it registering on radars, they could get inside their own bases without them even knowing. This meant trouble. They had to learn just how they'd arrived here, and fast, before another of these squads appeared.

_"Perhaps I could offer an opinion."_

Gek offered the equivalent of a groan as he heard the voice. N'alko spoke up from the side of the crowd, causing a few Elites to turn at him and laugh. _"N'alko, leave us."_ Spoke the Elite with a bothered tone. _"If you are needed we shall call you, but do _not _disrupt our meeting!"_

_"I'll interrogate them."_ Responded the interrupter. _"I know their language, and I can translate it and tell you what they speak of. I have no vendetta against the humans. I'll speak to them and get the information we need!"_

The group of consultants in the room paused as they glanced between each other. _"N'alko," _spoke Gek warily. _"Your desire to study the humans has brought you to ask this of me? If you are doing this for your own sacrilegious r-"_

_"Do not talk to me about the Great Journey!"_ Yelled the Translator back to the group. N'alko's face seethed with rage at hearing the comments about his beliefs. Usually, he was calm and relaxed, but if someone was to accuse him of heresy, then they would cross the line. He paused as he got control of his inner instinct and walked to the ledge where Gek stood, beginning to whisper quietly to him.

_"Listen… I do wish to learn about them. It is part of my research. You need someone to speak clearly to them and have them understand. I am possibly the only one at this base that understands the Human Language after our separation from the others. You know my will to follow the Sacred Journey. You know my own desire to exterminate them. You know I can control my desire. I'm. Your. Best. Chance."_

Gek frowned as he stared at the elite before him and paused in thought. His inner mind warred with the decision on what to do before disapprovingly, he glared directly at him.

_"… You have ten minutes. Get what you can… if anything at all."_

* * *

Kallen breathed in and out as she thought of what to do. The strange room she'd been stuck in was cold, but her suit protected her from any changes in temperature, regulating itself to keep her body its normal core temperature. She looked down at her cuffs, and once again, reached down to try and pry them off, trying to figure out just what they restrained her with. Whatever it was, the cuffs wouldn't budge.

She'd continue breathing heavily as she failed again, curling her legs to her chest as she thought to herself on what just happened to her. The sight of the two things fighting shocked her. She'd never seen anything like that before. Out of all the things, she didn't expect to be captured by Aliens. Now that she was captured though, she treated it as when she was captured by the Britannians. She ran through the plan again in her head. Escape, Find the others, get transport, get to somewhere safe. If only she could figure out how to escape.

The sound of the shield deactivating awoke her from her thoughts. She looked up at the sight of another of those creatures, this one wearing the same armor as the infantry, and having the same eyes, but having a lighter skin-color. It paused as it looked at her, eyeing her up and down as it walked to her. Fearing her life, she backed up again, prepared to do what she could to save herself, but the creature paused as it walked a little slower before kneeling down until it was closer to the ground like her. It looked into her eyes with its own as she noticed something. This one wasn't like the others.

"Hello." It said slowly, but clearly, in a deep rumbling voice.

Kallen's eyes widened as she relaxed a tiny bit. "You… you can understand me?" she asked the thing as it continued to look at her before it nodded.

"Yes." It said slowly again. "I'm a translator. I was sent to talk to you."

Kallen paused as she frowned, finally able to express her anger at something that could understand her. "Well, what if I don't want to talk?" She said as she glared at him.

The thing that looked at her only blinked in confusion as it looked at her. "I would advise against it." He said as he sat back and looked at her, raising an eyebrow at her. "What is your name?" he said calmly as he looked at her.

She huffed as she crossed her arms, not saying a word.

"How about" spoke the thing as it thought to itself. "I tell you about myself, and you tell me about who you are? An exchange of information?"

Kallen looked at the alien as he spoke and frowned, bothered by his tone. He was treating this as an interrogation; an interrogation as to which she didn't wish to be a part of. Anything having to do with these creatures had dangerous consequences, having experienced her close encounter from earlier. Although, learning about them might benefit her in the long run. She might be able to get something out of this in return. "…Fine."

The Elite gave a curt nod as it looked at her, scanning her over. "What's your name?"

"Kallen Kozuki." She said blatantly as she looked at him. "My turn: Who are you?"

The alien's eyes widened a bit as she asked that as if she said something strange, but he spoke anyway. "I'm N'alko. I'm the Human Translator for the Covenant." He said as he looked at her. "Where are you from?"

"Japan. Earth." She said coldly as she looked at his reaction. He nodded as she'd ask her next question. "Where am I?"

N'alko blinked as his head moved back a little, awfully surprised at the question she asked him. "You mean you don't know where you are?"

"No, I don't. That just earned me another question." She said with a slight smirk as she looked at him. "You still haven't answered where I am though."

The Alien paused as it studied her, eyes glaring, seeming to think the girl to be strange. "You're on Requiem, a Forerunner Planet."

"What are your weaknesses?"

The Alien echoed a laugh as it looked at her. "Weaknesses? I don't think I'm allowed to tell you that information. Do you take me for a fool?"

"I don't know, and that makes one more question for me." She said with a smirk, leaning forward a bit. "Choose what you say carefully."

The Alien paused once more as it looked at her darkly. Kallen smiled as she looked at him, having twisted his own words around at him. The Alien sighed as it crossed its arms and looked at her. "Fine. Go ahead and ask me."

"What are you?"

The alien paused as the female asked this question and thought it odd she didn't know what he was, but decided it'd be best to not ask any more questions. "I am one of the Sangheilios, the Elites; a member of the Covenant."

Kallen paused as she looked at him curiously. "The Covenant? What, as in Religion?"

"The Covenant are a group of aliens such as me that believe in the truth of The Great Journey, and with that, your questions have caught up with mine." He said leaning forward as he used the last question she asked against her.

Kallen paused as she looked at the Alien, frowning. The alien was clever; A Dangerous quality to have in a foe. "Alright, your turn."

"How did you get here?"

Kallen paused as she smiled and chuckled. "I don't think I'm allowed to tell you that information." She said to him.

The Alien sighed as he looked at her some more. He seemed a bit depressed from this answer then he had from the others. Eight minutes had passed since he'd arrived, and it was almost time for him to leave. "I have to leave soon. Ask me one more question, and I'll ask you one."

Kallen paused as she looked at the Elite and thought to herself carefully before deciding just what to ask of him. She looked at him solemnly and spoke. "Will you kill us?"

The Alien's eyes froze as she looked directly into them. She could tell he thought about his answer carefully. "It will… depend on our needs." He said directly to her as he thought of his final question. "Are you and your friends associated with the UNSC?"

Kallen blinked as she heard the name. Her face showed pure confusion at his question. "I haven't heard of them. Who are they?"

N'alko's eyes widened as he looked at the girl. He slowly stood up and turned away from her. "I'm… I'm sorry but time's run out." He said as he walked outside, the shield-door closing behind him.

Kallen looked after him, frozen as she pulled her knees inwards, once again reaching down to try the ankle-cuffs that held her in place.

* * *

Gek frowned as he waited outside the prison chamber for N'alko. The Ten minutes had just ended when he walked out of the cell, his face in a seriously determined demeanor as he started walking away. _"Well?"_

He was quiet as he continued walking down through the hall, returning towards the main hall. Gek followed behind, his two golden orbs glaring at him angrily. _"I asked you a question, N'alko! I best get a response!"_

_"They're not with the Military."_

Gek paused for a minute as his own eyes widened at what the interrogator said. As N'alko continued walking away, Gek trotted to catch up behind him. _"If they're not with the Military, then who are they with?"_

_"That's what I couldn't find out." _ N'alko turned to Gek with slight worry in his eyes. _"These humans, whoever they are, are not working with the Military. This shouldn't bother me, and yet it does. Do you want to know why?" _he asked his commander. _"It bothers me because they managed to activate an unregistered Slipspace jump without any help from them whatsoever. These people, whoever they are, have achieved a scientific point that not even the Covenant have reached. Whoever, or whatever they are, they have the knowledge of Forerunners."_

Gek glared angrily as he placed his grip tightly around his Collar-bone. _"Do. _NOT. _Speak. Blasphemy!"_ he spoke with emphasis on each word. _"They are not Forerunners. They are Filthy Humans! If you think the Forerunners have placed their knowledge in them instead of us, I'd like you to inform me just what runs through that thick skull of yours!"_

N'alko grasped the commander's hand in defense as it tried to pull it off lightly. As he listened to his commanders fury, he paused at the end to let him finish before he nodded. _"Yes sir. Forgive me, I was out of place."_ He spoke with that old intonation he'd used as a soldier. A sigh came out of his throat as the field commander released his grip on the lower officer.

_"Seeing as you are the only one to communicate with the humans," _spoke Gek with a serious tone as he strode past the translator. _"You are to interrogate them tomorrow morning, after the Central light's Night cycle. I expect you to get out of them just who they are and what they're doing here, and if you don't, well…" _He said with a slight chuckle. _"Your heretic manners shall come to an end."_

N'alko watched his field officer walk away, a trail of daggers following after him as each of his own optics forged them. As he watched his officer walk away, he turned behind him to glance once more at the blue shield-door of the cell. The Prisoner, Kallen Kozuki, would be in for a treat soon.

* * *

"This is Fireteam Vulture, we're in position."

The Pelican had dropped the Fireteam off at a reasonable distance from the Covenant base. After Hiking nearly half-a-click from the drop point, climbing over Rock after Rock, Path after Path (and Complaint after Complaint), The group had managed to reach a well-hidden spot that overviewed the base. Marc stood away from the edge, and out of view of the Covenant enemies, while Kale, Z, and Sam both stood, checking their guns and Armor Abilities to make sure they were prepared. Lucas sat on the edge, scoping in with his DMR, using his Promethean Vision every few minutes to scan behind a rocks and count how many people were actually down there.

"UNSC: Infinity, do you copy? I repeat, this is Fireteam Vulture, we're in position.

_"Fireteam Vulture, this is General Lamperouge."_

"General, what a surprise," spoke Marc, the three's attention for a second as they continued to check their stats. "What brings you to this corner of the communication channels?"

_"I'm going to be advising your team on this mission today. I plan to show Commander Palmer how to _properly_ run a Strike. This is going to be a regular Strike-sweep mission. We don't have any idea as to who the people are that they captured. All that we know is that they're humans. Nothing more. Find them, and we'll give you information on what to do next._

"With all due respect sir, Commander Palmer has been doing a bang-up job in leading us on our missions." Spoke Marc on the channel, drawing everyone's attention as they listened in.

_"I'd expect less backtalk from a true Spartan!" _shouted the general on their headsets. _"Perhaps it would be easier to send you back to being Marines then?"_

"Sir, No Sir!" spoke Marc hurriedly through the headset as he turned to the group. "We're ready to go when you give us the order."

_"I'm giving you the order now. Make a Move-on and find those prisoners!"_

Marc sighed as he removed his hand from his speaker-button. Turning to the rest of the team, which each nodded in return, he glanced towards Lucas and began to speak to him. "Lucas, what do you see?"

"Well, I have a good guess as to where those five are." He said, smiling as he counted them. "Inside the building. They're each spaced apart, which leaves me to think that they're either in different cells, or they're chained against walls. Either way, restrained. The base has got plenty of guards. We just have to take each of them out one section at a time. I count plenty of ghosts, at least six, and maybe two wraiths." He said, turning to Marc with a smile. "Biggest Jackpot yet."

Marc breathed in and out as he looked around at the team, their confidence returning as they each stood up with guns in hand. "Alright then team, let's roll.

** (A.N: **Heya everyone! This chapter I'd been slightly anxious to write and show the interrogation between the Elites and the other members from Geass world. Surprisingly, it was _really_ hard to write. I wish I could have posted it sooner, but I had different ideas on how this would go down, exactly. I finally got it to a time that I think it would work. I'm planning to stop the Geass-Halo chapter switch now that both worlds have reached the collision point. Anyways, now that my opinion on the chapter is out of the way, time for "Author's Answers!"

Saddas74: Actually, you're right. All of Humanity is united, but not all species in the Galaxy. Humans are still being killed and attacked by the remaining pieces of Covenant that are banding together. Lelouch merely recognizes the Covenant as a group that is slowing down the coming of peace in this universe. That's what he means by a new era.

Edboy4926: I don't think Knightmare Frames are necessary in this world, as they have Mantis' which serve as a rather well substitution for them.

That's all the questions that were asked in the Reviews. If there were other questions that were asked, I'm sorry to say, but they'll be revealed later in the story. I thank you guys for commenting. It's that extra boost that helps me keep on writing, so see you guys with my next chapter!**)**


	9. Chapter 8: Rescue

**Chapter 8: Rescue**

General Lamperouge stood over the Holo-field display, watching as Fireteam Vulture would slowly advance among the outside rim of the base. He'd spy the five blips move slowly and surely behind rocks, where more red blips would walk past. The image of a ghost would pause as they turned to the small area of rocks that the blips were hiding behind. It would strafe along the edge, looking for any sign of enemies, before it turned and sped off to continue on its patrol.

"Be more careful of where you choose to hide," spoke the General through the transmitter given in the Holo-field. "Choose a place where you'll be least expected."

"_Got it."_ Replied the voice of Marc from the Channel as the blips would move once more, quickly hiding under a set of rocks that formed almost an awning, shading the rocks below. They'd travel under this awning-like area before freezing, the large, red shape of a wraith passing by. The group merely sat as it, and a trio of grunts followed behind, trying to keep up. As soon as the enemies rounded a corner, the quintet moved out slowly as they continued their infiltration.

"Careful," Lelouch interrupted as he looked at the map. "You're extremely lucky that they haven't checked their Motion trackers yet. Just keep the movement low, and you should be fine. There's a small tunnel up ahead to your right, it should lead you to a ledge overlooking the base's courtyard."

"_Yeah, yeah general. We've seen these kinds of places before."_ Spoke Marc as he and the team quickly sped up to reach the tunnel, freezing as soon as they reached inside, a ghost passing outside as two jackals galloped after it. Again, they'd wait until their motion sensors were out of range before sneaking through the tunnel and reaching the ledge that overlooked the courtyard.

General Lamperouge could see that the group had paused and was now probably assessing their surroundings, but he watched the group with a groan, pinching the bridge of his nose. These people were imbeciles. Even though they had been taught how to work as a proper team, trained with each tactic that the Spartans were meant to learn, they seemed to lack that certain quality; what made a Spartan a True Spartan. He sighed as his gaze shifted back to the blips below. "Fireteam Vulture, I want you to activate your Helmet's video links. I want full first-person view of this."

"_Roger, sir. Fireteam, activate your video-links." _Responded Marc through the channel as five windows popped up before the General, the view of each Fireteam member being shown. General Lamperouge looked at what each of them saw and glanced at the map. They were each overlooking the courtyard that was buzzing with Jackal Snipers, Grunts, and Elites. Sadly, Crawlers occupied the area, signaling that they'd be dealing with Prometheans as well.

"Dammit," spoke Palmer as she viewed from the side. "They have Crawlers with them. It looks like they have a shitload of trouble."

"Relax yourself, commander." He spoke to the woman beside him. "Having an overwhelming number of enemies doesn't mean you'll lose. Fireteam Vulture, Prepare for plan D-Alpha."

"_Sir? Do you think that's the best choice?"_ asked Marc through the channel once more. "_Plan D-Alpha is f-"_

"I know what it's for." Spoke the General as a smile rose to his face. "Just prepare to activate the plan."

Almost as soon as he said that, a beam of bright light blasted past two of the video-links, the rock besides three of them burning as the Beam rifle's laser hit the rock. Instantly, the group rose up and dove for cover.

"_Shit, we're spotted!" _called Marc as he hid behind a small outcropping of rock. The group all took cover and hid from the incoming Beam-rifle fire, "_General Lamperouge, it looks like we won't be operating your plan just yet."_

The General sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at the group's camera feed. "Well… Since you've gotten yourself out of worse, let's see if that luck is still with you."

"_I beg your pardon sir?"_

"You will complete this mission on your own. Do whatever it takes to get to those prisoners." He said as he heard the blasting of plasma and energy flying over their shoulders. "I'll be watching from the sidelines to test your effectiveness in performance."

"_Well, sir, I think that's just plain cruel. When we need you most, you leave us to ourselves." _Spoke Marc with a laugh.

General Lamperouge frowned as he'd stare at the incoming red dots on the map. It looked as if they were stuck in Hell at the current moment. Leaning forward and pushing his arms on the side of the holo-field to hold him up. _Let's see if they can pull without a leader._

* * *

N'alko reacted quickly as he heard the alarm blare throughout the base. His pace quickened from a trot to a sprint as he headed for the main chamber. Knights hurried inside the base, their backs shaking as they opened up and watchers arose from the clumps in their back, the flying creatures quickly heading on their way through the tunnels, accompanied by their respective, Artificially Intelligent Warriors. A Knight sped past him, bumping his shoulder

"_Gek!"_ he called upon reaching the main hall. It was filled with rushing Crawlers, Elite, Jackals and Knights as they all headed to their positions either beside the door or outside where the fight was. Gek himself was gathering his gear beside the podium, an Energy sword already attached to his Thigh with a Beam Rifle in his hands. He grabbed an Active Camouflage and was about to leave when N'alko raised his arm in front of him. "_Gek, what are you doing!?"_

"_We outnumber them, brother!" _He spoke with determination, glaring at him angrily. "_If you think that we are unable to fight them, you can stay behind and cower like the weakling you are."_

"_It's true we outnumber them," _called the translator to his commander as he held him back more. "_But they're Spartans: The best and strongest of the UNSC. Fighting them might wound them, but I suggest you think just about what _he _has done to us before you charge in there recklessly."_

Gek froze as his memory raced. Memories of his first moment on Requiem, the first time he'd set his eyes on the Crawlers, and the Knights who'd just started helping them. It was also the first time that he'd laid eyes on him: The Great Demon, he who could not be killed. The Spartan was a monster in the eyes of many of the Covenant, having incinerated ships and destroyed hordes of their forces on his own. Gek knew the terror. He'd only witnessed him once from afar with his Beam Rifle. He made it out just barely alive, and was to be put on trial, for his crimes, before the prophets. Thankfully, they had been declared as traitors to the Elites, and with the freeing of their prisoners, he was pardoned for his crimes. The fear of the Master Chief still struck him today.

"_Perhaps,"_ spoke Gek as he turned to the male in deep thought. "_It is wise to… plan through our mean of attack."_

N'alko sighed with relief as he pulled his commander to the side. "_Commander, if my opinion is valuable, I say that you, I, and the Elite Commanders and Zealots flee through the Slipspace portal here."_

"_Flee!?"_growled Gek with anger as he turned towards the translator. "_Are you implying we are not strong enough to-"_

"_I'm implying that our survival is more important until the arrival of Shipmaster M'dama." _He said with determination as he turned to the Podium where Gek had been standing. "_He shall be the one to take control of Requiem upon his arrival, but until then, our troops need a temporary leader; and you're the one most suited for the position! I won't allow you to die, sir!" _

Gek paused as he glared at him with his furious eyes. "_You are a coward, N'alko. You order your fellow officers to retreat out of fear for their life and the order on Requiem… " _He sighed as he headed up to the podium and began to work with the Forerunner structure. "_I shall give the order. _

"_Sometimes, commander," _He said to him solemnly as he turned down the hall to where the prisoners were being held. "_Running away is a suitable strategy. I shall retrieve the prisoners myself to escort to our Secondary command."_

Gek would only continue to enter commands into the device, not looking as he spoke behind him to the other. "_Hurry." _was all that he said as the Structure began to form around the podium, the base of the portal coming into existence as metal pieces flew and floated into position.

N'alko quickly broke into a sprint as he headed back the way he came. The prisoners were in danger. Whatever knowledge they had, he couldn't let die along with them. He disappeared into the maze of a structure, his footsteps just being barely heard over the roar of the rushing noise.

* * *

Kallen looked around at the room she was in. After hearing the alarm, she'd decided to hurry and get the ankle-cuffs off and at least make an effort to break through the shield door. The noises outside worried her, and whatever it was that was coming to blast into the base, it obviously wasn't good.

The strange noises of the guards outside her chamber were heard, almost like a cackling of sorts before the sound of trotting was heard as they hurried off, the noise beginning to calm down as fewer and fewer steps were heard outside. Someone, or some_thing,_ had caused nearly all the aliens in whatever they were in to head to the source of the commotion. She moved her fingers along the edge of her pilot suit's cuffs, feeling the metal rim of the ankles as she looked for how to get them to deactivate. "Come on, you… stupid junk!"

The noise grew outside as something approached. Quickly leaning back against the wall, she tried to pretend as if she hadn't been fiddling with her restraints at all.

The shield door disappeared once more as the Elite from before huffed in. He turned to the Red-haired girl with eyes of calm focus in all the chaotic noises outside. "Greetings again." he said as he looked at her. "I apologize… but we've had an emergency… And I need you to come with me." He said as he headed to the wall opposite the restraints and did something with a set of glowing sigils.

Kallen was confused as she looked at him. "Come with you?" she asked surprised as she stood up, glaring at him. "Why would I go with something that might kill me the moment I lose my purpose?"

"Because If you don't," spoke the creature as it turned to her, drawing a strange sort of weapon from its hip. It looked like the energy sword from earlier, except it had some kind of hand-guard and looked more like a purple pistol-type weapon. "I'll shoot you."

Kallen froze as she looked at the weapon. She'd never seen anything like it. The strange type of weapon looked dangerous. In her protective clothing, she'd be safe from bullets, but that thing didn't look like it shot that kind of projectile. Whatever it was, she could tell she'd be hurt from it. "Not much motive for me to go then now, is it?"

The Elite let out a groan as he approached her. "Listen closely." He said slowly as the noise seemed to echo outside. "This base is under attack. If we leave you here, then I cannot guarantee your safety. Come with me, and I know whether or not you are safe. Which choice will you make?" He said with a glare to her once more.

Kallen paused as she debated inwardly whether or not to actually go with him. The Elite was dangerous, but what if he was saying the truth? If she was going to die, she'd at least like to know when. "…Fine. Get me out of here." She said after a moment or so of hesitation.

The Elite let out a breath of air that sounded like a sigh. He turned back to the strange symbols sticking out of the wall and slid two to the right downwards, and one on the left upwards. Almost instantly, the metal cuffs around her ankle were released with a clank as the blue light dissipated. As she reached down to rub her ankles, feeling them after having the cuffs released, the Elite turned to her and held out its hand to her. "I suggest we hurry and find your friends."

* * *

Outside her cell, Kallen looked to her left and right. To both directions, a series of doors were placed, each with a blue shield-door in front of them, and a purple machine besides it. Surprised at how many there were in the room, she turned to her left, where the Elite walked up to the machine and activated the buttons. Kallen watched and payed close attention as he entered buttons on the control pad, deactivating the blue shield as he entered the second prison cell.

"Another one? What is it with all of you wanting to see me?"

The voice of C.C came as a relief to Kallen as she smiled a bit, hearing her sarcasm. The calm demeanor of the girl meant at least something, and the way her voice was steady meant she wasn't in pain. Of course, she'd been able to take a bullet to the head and still survive, so if anything, she would be the hardiest of them all. "C.C?"

"Kallen?" called the voice of a confused C.C As the Elite worked more on the control pad in her room, the same clanking sound being heard before he exited quickly, passing a Weapon rack with a Storm Rifle and two Plasma Pistols as he worked on the hall's third cell. C.C Slowly walked into view of the doorway and looked at Kallen, her hair slightly frazzled, but still its lime green, natural color. She wore the same pilot suit she had been adorned with since arriving on this strange planet. Her golden eyes looked at Kallen with a bit of relief as she saw her. "Have you come to rescue me?"

"Umm," Spoke the Pilot as she turned to look around the building. "Something like that, yes."

"Save the Reunions." Spoke the Elite as he turned, heading into the next cell and working on the second control panel. "You need to hurry and follow me. I'll take you to the Main Hall and Evacuate you to Second Command."

Kallen glared at the thing that was ordering her around with her eyes of fire. That thing, whatever it was would eventually

Suzaku strolled out of his cell, his face solemn as he followed directions of the Elite, spying Kallen, his eyes rose in confusion. "Kallen?" He said as he looked at her. "What are you doing?"

Kallen looked at Suzaku with a slight smile. "Glad to see you're okay. It would make me look like a bad captain if I'd let my subordinates die."

Suzaku heard what she said and blinked once before nodding and taking a step back, turning towards his own Cell as the Elite finished his work.

"I must get the other two," spoke the Elite as it exited Suzaku's cell, his gaze focusing on heading to the fourth cell. "You three, come with me-"

It was too late as it looked at the weapon in the Guren Pilot's hand, the green light emanating from the tip glowed brightly, signaling the overcharging of the weapon. The overcharged blast exited the plasma pistol and hit him in the knee, causing an instant burning sensation to spread through his entire leg.

"GRAH!" It roared as the overcharged Plasma-bolt hit his knee, burning deep into his skin. Unfortunately, his shields were down. He hadn't activated them because he believed he wouldn't be dragged to the fight as he helped with the prisoners. He should have known better, should have prepared for them to fight back. He slowly turned his roaring head towards the group of three as she went past Suzaku to the last cell, while Suzaku went to the Fourth one.

"Suzaku, just follow what I do. I saw him open yours and C.C's Cells. I know how It works." She said as she entered the data into the shield generator, unblocking the blue shield.

When she entered the cell, the one who was restrained looked up at her with a smile of relief and joy as he saw that she was here. "Kallen!"

The voice of Ohgi brought another sensation of relief to her mind as she looked at the man who had been restrained as well. His forehead had a bruise in the upper-right corner, but besides that, he seemed unhurt. "Thank god you're alright! How did you get here? Are the others with you?" He began to ask her interrogatively.

"Later." She said as she turned around and repeated the process the elite did for her cuffs, hoping it would work the same way. Thankfully, the clanking sound of the cuffs being released, combined with the crackling sound of the blue energy dissipating confirmed her theory. She turned around and spied him slowly standing up and stretching his legs.

"Man," he exclaimed. "I thought I was going to die in that cell."

"Yeah, well instead, you get to die on the front lines." She said as she walked outside the cell. "Come on, grab a weapon and let's go."

Outside, Suzaku, C.C, and the recently freed Jeremiah, were each scanning between the different weapon racks that littered the hallway. The exotic weapons before them were unknown. Most of them looked relatively similar to their standard assault rifles, but the strange alien-like shape, and with the example from earlier, showed that these were obviously different. C.C Had already grabbed herself the weapon that Kallen had recently used, turning it over in her hand as she smiled. "Could be useful."

Jeremiah picked up a light blueish-greenish shaded weapon and stared at a screen near the strange grip it possessed. A strange type of hum was heard from the machine as Jeremiah looked at it, a grin coming to his face. "A Sniper? Interesting." He said as he took it and continued to examine it himself.

"Let me have a look at that." Spoke Ohgi as he stared at the strange, elongated weapon. Jeremiah handed it to him as the cyborg scanned the weapons, spying an elongated purple and green weapon. A small smile came to his face as he grabbed it and checked around the weapon, scanning to see how it worked. Ohgi looked at the weapon he just received and turned it over. "Looks more like a railgun to me." He said as he held it, glancing around at the others.

Suzaku had picked up what looked like a strange type of thick-barreled weapon. The deep blue coating of it and grip on the gun made him think of it as an assault rifle, but whatever bullets it shot, he knew that they weren't metal. Turning to the creature making the cries of pain, he glanced over it. "What about him?"

"Should we kill him?" Asked Jeremiah, his eyes scanning over the crippled Elite, who grasped its crippled knee. While Kallen scanned the weapon racks, she saw something she thought she might like and grabbed it herself.

"No, let's leave him here." She said as she hefted another of the strange, blue-coated weapon in her hands, testing its weight. "The Alarms are going off due to intruders. Whoever they are, they don't like his kind. Let's leave him to them." She said as she turned towards the rest of the group. "Everyone have what they need?"

The group nodded once, almost in unison as they looked at Kallen. "Well, fearless leader," Spoke C.C Sarcastically as she smiled. "What now?"

"Now," she said with a smirk as she looked at the rest of the group. "Let's kick some ass."

* * *

"Man, that was tough."

Lucas sighed as he slid down the side of his slope and into the courtyard. After managing to clear the area of Snipers and Crawlers, he and the rest of Fireteam Vulture split up to take different attack points and take them out individually. The group had managed to clear the rest of the group

"Everyone good?" called the voice of Kale from his position behind cover at the very front of the courtyard. The rock was just enough for him to hide and snipe all the creatures that he needed.

"I think so." Spoke Lucas as he checked his DMR once more, stopping himself from his slide as he scavenged the dead bodies for any plasma grenades.

"I am fine," spoke Z from her vantage point on one of two side-bridges, overlooking the group. "From my view, so is Sam."

"Hey guys!" Called Sam with a grin on her face as she hefted up a large, orange, curvature weapon. "Check it out! The grunt up here had a Fuel-rod Cannon! Still has about Fifteen shots!"

Lucas smiled as he himself found what he needed; a Beam rifle that rest beside two plasma grenades. The Fallen body of a Jackal Sniper sat, its blood covering the metal structure that made up most of the courtyard. "Hello sweetie." He said with a smile as he switched his DMR for the Beam Rifle. Scanning the status-screen, he saw it had 67% Left inside. Good enough for about seven or so shots. Seven should be enough.

"What about Marc?" questioned the Iron Wall as she looked around among the group, trying to find where their leader had gone.

"Guys, over here!"

The voice of their leader alerted the rest of them as they hurried over to where he was. "Marc!" called Kale as he ran through and over the bodies that littered the field, following the rest of them as they headed towards an enormous, metal door embedded into the rock of the desert. It would have been invisible from above, but the entirety of it on the ground was almost hard to miss. Marc looked through his visor at the metal structure with a strange, red button on the front.

"_What exactly is it?"_ spoke the voice of the General through the channel, probably asking someone else on the bridge.

"Well, aint it great to hear your voice again!" called Lucas into the headset as he angrily turned to the side. Marc turned to glare at him warily as the voice returned to the channel again.

"_You've proven yourselves effective on your own: A Quality that every Fireteam needs. I commend you for that." _Was all the general said as emotionless as he could. "_However, you're not out of the woods yet. You still have five prisoners to rescue. Now, someone explain to me what that thing is."_

"_From my scans," _Spoke the ever-more favorable voice of Roland. "_It's a doorbell. Ring it, and the doors should open."_

"_Alright, Fireteam. Ring that bell."_ Spoke the General as he watched them.

Marc sighed as he glanced around the group, nodding to them as they each ran backwards, heading towards a position they each thought they might be able to hold to take care of them from all sides. Looking back at the door, Marc would nod. "You got it." Was all he said as his fingers pushed the button, the light turning green before the entire thing lit up like a flame and begin disintegrating.

The control panel would continue to scatter into more promethean data fragments, as a hum came from the door. Quickly doing a backwards jog, Marc sped himself towards the cover that had appeared during their fight, the ledge being enough to hide himself as he crouched. Lucas was to his right, aiming with the Beam Rifle towards the entrance, waiting as the massive doors opened, the room inside being shaded from view.

Then it walked out. A Single Grunt took slow, steady steps, aiming its Plasma Pistol around slowly, trying to see where the enemies were. Cautiously and nervously, it began scanning around as its mask emitted whimpers of fear. It slowly turned towards the cover that Lucas and Marc hid behind and tried to see if it could notice anything odd.

"I got it." Called Lucas as he took his Magnum and looked through the scope, glaring directly at the Grunt. Pulling the trigger, the Grunt's head exploded with blue goo, the bullet passing through expertly. The Grunt dropped the pistol it was holding as it fell forward, the Methane tank on its back sending it on a fall towards the ground before it.

Lucas smiled as he holstered his pistol again. "There, problem solved."

Almost instantly, the sound of Roaring was heard from the same, massive door that it had exited from. The sound froze the rest of the Fireteam as they looked through the door. Almost as if from the Nether, the creatures emerged; Grunts, Jackals, Elites, all of them rushing through in one massive charge. The barrage of different colors flying through the air as Needles, Lasers and Plasma each soared towards the group of five, the storm catching almost all of them offguard.

"You just _had_ to say it!" called Z as she and the group quickly began to retreat backwards to better cover in preparation for the second wave.

**(A.N: **and I leave you with a cliffhanger. Hold on tight until the next one! I find my chapters becoming progressively harder to write. I think that it's going to turn out rather good though, once this story's done and complete. I apologize, but it might take longer for my chapters to be posted, rather than just 1 a day, I might move to one a week. Anyways, time for "Author Answers!"

Edboy4926: Actually, you're right. The Mantis can't fly, true, and while it lacks the Energy wings and power of the Knightmare frame, it still has its own shield linked into its system, and in the Halo universe, the Mantis had taken years of UNSC work to develop. It will take years more for the Knightmare frame. Besides, with the mass of flying vehicles that are currently possessed by both sides, I feel that a flying robot would just add to the chaos.

Evelsaint93: No, there aren't. If you look in the world of Code Geass, you'll hardly find any aliens. If you're referring to C.C and V.V, then they're not aliens. They're humans themselves, who had been granted the power of Geass before gaining a code and becoming a giver of the power.

Well, other than that, I'm done with this chapter. Hope you guys stick around until the next one!**)**


	10. Chapter 9: A Wicked Discovery

**Chapter 9: A Wicked Discovery**

Kallen slowly advanced through the halls of the strange base, her team-mates following suit behind her. The group had moved through the strange halls of the massive base. The more they investigated it, the more maze-like it seemed. Each hall looked the same, the only thing marking some kind of difference was the fact that each hall had weapon racks, or weird, purple crates in different places. Some of them looked the same, while others looked more like the structures around them.

"Kallen," spoke Suzaku as he kept up his pace with her, passing the fourth matching intersection in a row. "Are you sure that you know where we're going?"

"Suzaku, I've been in a cell like you." She retorted slightly angry as she paused at a corner, raising a hand to get them to stop behind her. "I have absolutely no _clue_ as to where we are."

She slowly turned her head to get a glimpse around the corner before quickly pulling back. There were three, little alien things. They looked like they had some sort of tank on their back with a respirator on their face, or some kind of mask. They seemed to be conversing in their alien language. About what, she couldn't tell. All she knew was that the only way outside was through them.

"Three little things. We can get them by surprise." She whispered as she grabbed what she thought was the trigger and nodded to the group.

The aliens were caught off guard as she, Suzaku and Jeremiah jumped around the corner, each of them choosing one of the three to take out. Jeremiah's weapon blasted some kind of beam from its barrel as it hit one of the things in the head, the creature falling to the ground, dead with one shot. Kallen's and Suzaku's blasts fired at the grunts, making them shake from the blasts for a while before they both fell back, the blue blood dripping from their wounds on the ground. Looking at the weapons in their hands, the expedition group smiled as they hefted them.

"Wow…" spoke Suzaku with a smile. "Not an Assault Rifle, but it serves well enough."

"Same here." Spoke Jeremiah as he looked at the purple and green weapon in his hand. "Mine appears to be some sort of Ballistics-firing weapon."

"It'll do." Spoke Kallen plainly as she hefted it and continued walking through the hallway. "We don't know how many more of these guys we'll meet along the way, so let's keep going."

"You know, Kallen," spoke Jeremiah as he followed close behind. "I've been wondering just what the Alien did to you that made you leave him like that."

The Pilot slowed down a bit as she thought to herself, but sped up even faster. "He told me the truth. He affirmed what we all knew." She said grimly as she paused, reaching another corner. "They'd kill us when we lose our value."

Ohgi smirked as he slowly walked up to where she was and got up next to the edge, readying his sniper rifle. "Not much different from what the Britannians would do." He said as he turned just past the edge and aimed the scope of it down the corridor before them.

At these words, a certain set of memories came back to Kallen. She recalled being held captive by Britannian soldiers in that large, glass cylinder. She remembered howShe recalled how almost the entire time she thought of someone who would come and rescue her: someone brave and valiant. Someone like Lelouch.

"Nothing." Spoke Ohgi after a few seconds. "Just a Long corridor with an intersection ahead. I don't see an-wait." He said, raising a hand as he saw something, moving his fingers slowly to the trigger and blasting, a small bit of light glowed from the corridor as his weapon shot at something. "Got it. _Now_ it's clear."

Kallen turned the corner and saw what Ohgi had just shot at. The strange, reptilian creature lay dead on the ground. It held what appeared to be some sort of wrist-guantlet on its arm, while in its hand was some sort of needle weapon. Ohgi smiled as he started to walk down the hall, the group following behind him. "Man, this thing has some good firepower!"

"All our weapons do." Spoke Kallen as she headed to the front of the group and turned to everyone else. "Guys, we can't keep stopping every few minutes to admire our weapons' firepower! We need to keep go-"

Then they heard it. A Continuous, yet random stream of bangs and blasts was heard. They seemed to sound like the kinds of weapons that they were wielding, but they were mixed with something else that was familiar.

Ohgi's eyes widened as he heard the noise. "Kallen, That's-"

"Gunfire." She said with a smile as she turned around to the corridor where the sound was coming from. "Actual Gunfire." The Girl's feet willed her to move as hope rose in her mind. She sped towards the sound that was heard, her teammates following suit behind her. "Come on! We might not be the only humans here after all!"

* * *

"Dear God! Do they ever stop?"

Lucas' shout over the radio channel was heard by most of the group as they understood what he meant. The Covenant forces seemed to keep coming. Right now, they were in their Third wave of dealing with Covies and Prometheans. The group had all retreated to one spot in the front of the courtyard with a large rock. Kale's Regeneration field was active and the rest of the group was resting, having their shields recharge. They were all getting tired, but the more Covenant that emerged from the entrance, the more that they'd have to deal with them.

From behind the cover, Lucas had to switch out his magnum for a Beam Rifle and was now doing peek shots from above the cover, scanning through the scope of the strange weapon. "I can't see an end to them!"

"Keep trying!" shouted Marc as he himself peeked around the corner and shot off at three more grunts with his Battle Rifle. "They have to end sometime!"

_"I_ don't see an end to it!" spoke Sam as she picked up a nearby suppressor and began firing at a few Crawler Alphas, their weapons falling to the ground. Sam smiled at that and quickly run from her cover, grabbing the suppressor ammo as she sprinted to a railing to her right, ducking behind it. "You guys thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I'm thinking of doing _this_." Spoke Z as she pulled the pin on two frag grenades and tossed them over the rock, blindly hoping to hit something. She and the other three at that rock crouched as the remains of a Watcher flew over their head, one of its 'wings' hitting a boulder and splitting in two. "I suppose there could be a worse way to go."

"What are you talking about?" smiled Lucas as he ran out from behind the boulder. "We're not even close to being done." Lucas' Beam Rifle knocked out a Knight with Two hits, and a wounded Knight with one. His next move was a quick dodge behind the rocks to the left as the oncoming plasma soared past him.

"If these guys keep coming like this, I don't see how!" retorted Lucas once more as he took out three watchers, sending a fourth as it flew away to recharge its shield. "Oh no, you're not getting away from me." He said as he shot it with his beam rifle. "That's the last of the Watchers! Take 'em down!"

"Just _shut up_ and _shoot!" _called Marc as he took down two more elites, before sprinting to a side column where two grunts noticed his approach and began to shoot in hopes of defense.. He didn't bother to shoot them as the plasma blasts hit him, decreasing his shields to nothing. As he flashed red, the orange burst of his shields disappearing, he took his knife and slammed it into the First Grunt's head, causing the other to begin to panic, but not before Marc kicked it against the column, removed the knife and replanted it in the Second Grunt's throat. "We can't last here for long, let's find the prisoners and _quick._ Lucas, what do you see?"

"Hang on a minute!" He called, blasting away the last two grunts with precise headshots, running out of Beam Rifle ammo. "Grunts are out of the ballpark, for now!" he said as he crouched and reached up to the side of his helmet, looking directly at a rock as a flashing red light appeared on the right ear of his helmet. "Alright, I'm checking now. Nothing but Baddies throughout the yard. Front hall coming into view now." He said before he paused. "Wait, this can't be right."

"For God's sake, just spit it out!" Called Sam as she activated her jetpack, quickly soaring over two Knights and landing at a Bridge opposite of her cover, blasting at them with her Suppressor. "Where are they!?"

Lucas paused as he looked at the front entrance, spying five shapes in the shadows. "Seems like the prisoners aren't prisoners anymore! Look alive, folks, we've got Friendlies!"

Once each of them had a small chance from firing, they turned a glance towards the entrance. An Oncoming Elite had just been blasted with the light of a Beam Rifle as a strange-looking group of people walked out. The group of five looked at the courtyard group surprised as they spit up to hide behind small crenellations of cover in front of the door. They'd attracted the attention of the back half of the enemies as they turned and began to fire at their cover. A flash of Lime-green was seen as a Plasma-pistol blasted an overcharged burst at a Knight, causing it to stumble back in slight surprise as a Brown-haired boy shot the Knight's skull with a few blue blasts of a Storm Rifle, the orange body disintegrating into ashes, before he hid behind a cover from a closely-called Covenant Carbine blast to the edge of the cover. A Crawler quickly leapt to the side of one of the Covers and turned to roar a bit at who was behind the cover, before blue plasma barrages blasted it to pieces.

Fireteam Vulture almost _all_ smiled as they caught glimpses of the resistance. It was nice to have Backup, even if it wasn't _official_ backup. They all would continue with a smile as they'd fight with renewed Vigor. Marc bolted out from behind his pillar, knife in his right and a scavenged Boltshot in the other. Running into the Fray, he called through the channels. "Sam, Cover me!" He said as he struck down one Elite with a stab to the neck, surprising a second as it turned and might have diminished his shields to nothing, had his charged Boltshot not blasted its shields and life to oblivion. A few Jackals shifted their gaze to the assaulter as Sam took down one, two, but a third began blasting needles as she ran out of ammo. "Shit, reloading!" she called as she reloaded her weapon, the green smoke coming out as she removed the cartridge. While one more needle might have blasted Marc's shields away, the blast of a Beam Rifle was sent through it, killing it instantly. Marc dove for cover behind a second pillar as he smiled. "Thanks, Lucas!"

"Don't thank me! I'm out, remember?" called Lucas as he snatched up two Plasma Grenades, tossing them onto the back of a Turned Elite, causing him to go into a frenzy as he tried to tear it off, like an itch he wasn't able to scratch, before he was sent flying off, spinning like a wheel. The resulting splash damage took out a Jackal who was sent back, hitting Lucas' rock with a crunch as its skull caved in. Marc paused as he glanced towards the prisoners' cover and saw another Beam Rifle Blast miss a crawler. A smirk came to his face as he saw a Covenant Carbine blast away at the head of a Knight, each shot hitting almost the same spot over and over again until its shields were down, the next shot sending it into orange-golden ashes. "Well, it seems that their team has some good snipers then!"

"Who knows, they might even be better than you, Lucas." spoke Z as she took down some of the last two Elites, a Knife sticking into one head before expertly coming out and being thrown into the skull of another before it could react. Both fell to the ground, dead instantly. The rest of the group took a breather as a Red-haired girl emerged from the group and shot down the last of the Elites with her Storm Rifle, the courtyard now being covered with the bodies of Elites, Jackals and Grunts, with parts of Watchers and Crawlers scattered at random.

"Oh, Ha-ha, don't even joke about that. You know I'm the best shot on Requiem," bragged Lucas as he slowly walked into the middle from his spot behind a rock, where the group had slowly begun to gather and discuss their next topic. "Anyways, we found the prisoners, and we've cleared the zone. Let's see if we can get a transport out of here."

"Umm, guys?"

Lucas' question signaled the rest of the group to turn to where he was looking. The covers in front of the door remained standing as the people slowly walked out from behind, aiming their weapons at the Spartans Cautiously. The three males and two females seemed to balance that of their team as they each approached the group, the green-haired girl and the Teal-haired man kept their backs to the group as they aimed their weapons back at the door, while the Black-haired, Red-haired and Brown-haired members turned their weapons on the team. The prisoners were quiet as they eyed the soldiers up and down, watching their weapons. Finally, the red-haired girl spoke up. "You five…" She said cautiously, aiming the Storm rifle directly at Marc's head. "Are you human?"

Human? What kind of question was that to ask? Hadn't they seen a Spartan before? Lucas moved his hands to his helmet, removing it to reveal his face. "Well, I'm human. Not sure about the rest of these dweebs."

Sam and Z both glared at Lucas angrily as the weapons were turned on them instead. A hand smacked Lucas in the back of his head, causing Lucas to glance between the two girls to either side of him, wondering which one of them did it.

The three seemed to sigh with relief as their weapons were lowered. "You're human? ... All of you?" asked the red-haired girl once more as she turned to the other five of the group.

The other three, save for Marc, removed their helmets as well, revealing their respective faces with a slight smirk. "Yes, we are." Spoke Kale as he looked at the brown-haired boy who faintly resembled himself. "But we're not so sure about you." He said as he tightened the grip by only a little bit on his magnum. "Who are you five, and where did you come from?"

The red-haired girl, who was assuming the leader position at this time, looked as if she was about to say something, paused, and looked at the five in thought. "We were… travelling, and we got ambushed by those… things." She said as she

Marc sighed as he turned around, placing a finger to his headset to speak up to Infinity. "General, did you get all that?"

* * *

_"General? ... You there?"_

_That's impossible._

Lelouch froze as he saw the glimpses on the screen during Fireteam Vulture's fight. When They finally revealed themselves, his doubting thoughts were assured. The people on the cameras were unmistakably his friends: C.C, Jeremiah, Ohgi, Suzaku and Kallen. People from _his_ universe, _his_ world, _his _timeline. The very life he sought to forget has followed him, like a shadow of himself that had never gone away, A forgotten memory that had resurfaced itself at the right time.

"How is… that possible?" He stammered, slowly taking steps backwards. "They… They shouldn't be here… They _can't _be here."

_How'd they get here? Were they alright? How long has it been? Was it even possible? Of course it was possible, he'd made it. Did they remember who they were? How was it possible? Will they disrupt my plan? Will they provide as casualties? I can't let them die! I need to help them! I can't blow my cover! I won't risk becoming a traitor! I have to_

_They've put me in Check._

"DAMMIT!"

"General!" yelled the voice of Sarah Palmer. As soon as she heard the man yell, she grabbed his shoulder, shaking him out of his thoughts. "What is going on!?" She said, glaring at him as she demanded the explanation. "Who are they!? Why are _Civilians_ on Requiem!?"

Lelouch paused as he was still wide-eyed in shock. He heard her, but his mind rushed to come up with just what to say

It was then that his eyes lit up with an escape route. It was narrow, but he knew just how to pull it off.

"They're…" Swallowed the General as he regained his composure. "They're lying."

"Lying?" asked Sarah Palmer inquisitively. "How do you know that?"

"Because," spoke Lelouch, taking a turn of his head towards Lasky and Palmer. "I've encountered them before. I know who they really are, and I know that they do not need to be let free wandering Requiem."

"General, what are you going on about?" spoke Palmer with a frown as she looked at him, curious as to what he really had to say.

"I assumed that they'd given up. I thought they would disband after I defeated their leader. Their resilience is impressive.

"Would you care to enlighten us, or are you going to keep rambling on?" asked Sarah, her temper beginning to go as she took a step towards the General.

"Commander Palmer," spoke Lelouch to the commander with a glare. "These people are part of the Insurrectionist group known as the Nova Knights."

A few people in the group's eyes widened a bit as they heard the General speak of the usurpers against the UNSC. The Insurrectionists had gotten bolder in these past four years, as different people rose up against the UNSC. They all had different reasons for fighting; they didn't agree with their strict rules, their ideas, and their methods. The Insurrectionists were still running strong, even through all these years.. "Insurrectionists?" Inquired Lasky as he walked towards the group, joining into the conversation himself.

"Why are the Innies on Requiem?" queried Palmer as she looked at the viewpoints as the team began to slowly replace their helmets.

"How should I know." Spoke the General as he turned to share the same view. "All that I know of is that these five are the team that destroyed station K-259 'Charon'."

Lasky paused as he looked between Palmer and the General. The destruction of Charon, an ONI Investigation station, was a major headline when it happened. It's main purpose, when constructed, was to investigate the great storm that circled the recently renamed planet of Sol 5, now known as Brutus; however, the station was eventually transformed to investigate the attack on New Phoenix and interrogate anyone who claimed they had knowledge of the event. Something went wrong, though. Nearly a few weeks after the New Phoenix incident, Charon lost orbit and crashed into the planet, getting destroyed in the build-ups of energy that had risen over the years. There were rumors going around that the people who'd cause such decimation were the Nova Knights, a new insurrectionist movement that was growing in numbers every day. So far though, there were no known survivors.

"General Lamperouge," spoke Lasky in a bothered tone. "Are you saying that these Knights destroyed the station?" he said as he turned to the five on the screen, who had all turned to the door and aimed their weapons in case of covenant attack.

"I'm _positive_ it was them." He said as he slammed his fist on the console's edge, not making a dent, but hurting his hand just slightly. "I know the Nova Knights…"

_"Hey! General! What's going on up there!?"_

Lelouch turned to the voice that snapped him out of his worried thoughts, and looked down at Marc's viewpoint. Marc, who was still trying to contact Infinity, had been unable to reach anyone. Before he could ask once more, Lelouch turned the microphone on and responded. "Spartan Caelus, this is General Lamperouge. We understand the situation. Your new orders are to arrest these people and bring them in for questioning."

Marc paused as he looked once more at the group guarding the door. "Sir, are you sure? They don't seem like the kind of people who-"

"Vulture, these people are dangerous. Bring them into custody _immediately!"_

Marc was quiet for a little bit before a nod was seen. _"Right away, sir."_

Lelouch breathed heavily, a shuddering sigh coming from his lips as he turned and huffed outside. These complications, if not solved soon, would prove Dangerous for Lelouch's plan. He needed to find a solution, and fast.

* * *

_"Let's go, Let's go, move it! All Zealots and Commanders_

Gek frowned as he continued the evacuation, the stream of Zealots and Warriors leaving through the Slipspace portal. The Knights were defeated, but there were plenty more of the resilient A.I.s to be dealt with. He looked around wondering just where N'alko was. The translator should have been back with the prisoners by now. He wasn't lost, surely, for wandering and learning the structure was one of the first things the Elites did upon arrival, N'alko's outcasting of the others giving him even _more_ time for wandering. He knew the translator, and he knew that he wouldn't be late.

Then, he stumbled into view. A Singed leg and a limp in his step signaled that he'd been attacked. N'alko growled as he limped towards the stream of officers, a few of which greeted him with a slight smirk. The Zealot didn't regard their humorous remarks and merely approached Gek with a grim expression, a hand resting on his sore leg as he winced slightly. _"The prisoners escaped."_

_"Escaped?"_ asked Gek, a slight bit of anger rising in his voice. _"Would you perhaps like to explain why?"_

N'alko looked at Gek with a combination of pain and anger. _"Ambush…" _he lied through his mandibles. _"They took me by surprise. I didn't expect them to try such a bold move. They can operate our weapons."_

Gek paused as he frowned, turning to the line of elites that continued to evacuate. They didn't have time to get them, as the Spartans would have caught them by now. Sending in a team to rescue them would be dangerous, and they didn't have the current manpower to operate retrieval. There was also something else on his mind. _"They know how to use our weapons." _He said with a frown as he pulled the handle of his Energy Sword from his thigh, looking at the device in his hand. _"They've had training in weapons…"_

_"That…" _spoke N'alko nervously as he tilted against the railing of the machine and looked at the ground beside him, still grasping his wounded knee. _"That may be true, but they're still not with the UNSC." _ A broken piece of an old cover rested on the ground. It was long, and had a bend inward before bending straight down again. It might serve as a good balance for his wounded knee. He leaned down and grabbed the cane.

_"Then _who_ are they?" _asked Gek as he activated his energy sword, an expression of anger coming to his face. He looked at the plasma that made up the curve and points of the sword, a few wisps coming off of the edges as if it had been removed from a fire of pure white. Glancing through the two blades, he saw that only a few more Zealots and Commanders remained. An expression of calm returned as e resheathed his energy sword, turning to Gek. _"If they're not with the UNSC, then how do they know how to fire our weapons? I'm beginning to think they took you for a fool, Gek."_

_"I'm… sorry." _Spoke N'alko with a grunt as he balanced himself on the Forerunner Cane, looking at his commanding officer with slight worry. _"Perhaps they did… but what else can we do now?"_

With a glare at the other Elite, Gek placed a hand on his shoulder. _"That is an easy question. You… will help us find them… " _spoke the commander as he and N'alko vanished through the Slipspace portal, the last of the soldiers making it through before It closed, leaving an eerie silence to echo through the bowels of the structure.

* * *

Kallen would continue aiming her weapon at the door as she stood side-by-side with the rest of the group of hers. After defeating more of those _things,_ she and the group had luckily stumbled upon a group of humans, who were as skilled in combat as they were! It was an incredible stroke of luck for them to be found by humans. It was almost as if… No, she promised herself she wouldn't think about him anymore. He'd died, and it was her duty to move on. It was time.

"Reminds you of the good old days, doesn't it?"

Kallen turned to Suzaku and smiled slightly. "Yeah… just fighting these Elite things instead of the Britannians."

Suzaku paused a moment as he thought in contemplation. Turning his gaze to the doorway, he remained silent, always the faithful protector. "You know," he said as if hesitant. "He commented on your abilities, even as Emperor."

Kallen's mouth remained in a straight line as she tried to push the thought of him out of her mind.

"He kept saying how good you were at piloting the new Guren. You were a match for me, and at the second battle for Tokyo, I would have lost, had you not –"

"Just _shut up_!"

Suzaku's mouth froze as he looked at her, trying to figure out why she yelled at him. Didn't she like Lelouch's praise? "But-"

"I'm trying to let him go… bringing him up only makes me feel worse, so why don't you just shut up and let me be!" It was by then that she was struggling to maintain her tough composure and shifted the blue weapon in her hands, gripping it so tightly that her hands were shaking.

Suzaku paused and turned to the gate, a nod coming from him in response. "I'm sorry… We all miss him-"

"But I-" Kallen froze. She what? Missed him? Hated him? Despised him? Followed him? She wanted to say something, but it seemed that her tongue couldn't find the right words. A dark expression came to her face as she lowered her weapon. "Just… forget it… He's dead, and not even God can change that…"

It was at the next instant that her wrist was grabbed and pulled behind her, the weapon falling to the ground. A set of clicking was heard as something cold and solid came around her wrists. She had been handcuffed. The repetitive sound of clanking, and sudden cries of surprise showed that the others had been handcuffed as well. "Hey, what's going on!" shouted Kallen as she turned around, slightly angry.

"Sorry, but the General and the Commander both have taken a sudden interest in you." Spoke the Black-haired male as he held Ohgi's shoulders. "Besides, we all have a few questions to ask you."

"But we helped you!" spoke Jeremiah slightly angry as he was handled by Kale. "We destroyed those things with you, isn't that proof that we're on your side?"

"Hardly." Responded the White-haired female with an almost Russian accent, as she moved Suzaku behind them. "The Covenant wish to destroy all humans, so fighting against them could have been simply a means of survival."

The group was being moved along, past the strange, courtyard-like section in front of the building and towards a section out in the open, where a few more of the dead remains lay scattered along the ground. That's when they saw it. A Large, strange kind of ship began flew from the horizon of rocks to either side of them. It looked almost like an old Airplane, except the wings and tail held some kind of rockets that propelled them, and the main stomach of the machine was much larger, seeming as if it could carry perhaps twenty to thirty people! The thing turned around and a buzzing sound echoed through Marc's helmet, as if a voice was communicating with him. The thing began to lower as the back-side of the large machine opened, revealing a cabin with two rows of chairs, each lining the sides of the vehicle, and holding bars above the chairs, much like the roller coasters that were at the school festival on occasion.

"Alright team, Pelican's here. Let's get these guys back to Infinity."

Kallen couldn't help but feel worried as she was taken inside that thing. She struggled slightly as she was brought board, and strapped into the seat as the ship took off, but whatever was coming next, she knew that it wasn't going to be good.

* * *

From in the sky, if one was looking down at the desert surrounding the calming base, one might see the set of empty, rocky plains that stretched on in all directions. If they had the ability to zoom in, then they might be able to see the shadows of two elites trudging across the desert. Both Elites seemed to be walking slowly, almost trudging over the rocks in their way. The direction they came from was in the direction of the Communications relay

_"Are we there yet?"_ asked the storm elite Nu'gal with almost a whine in his tone. _"We've been walking for days!"_

_"Do you see command anywhere close?"_ questioned the warrior Gallua with a groan as he turned behind him angrily at the storm elite. _"Besides that, two cycles is _not _two days! It's your fault anyway! Why did you have to leave your ghost at their Pelican? I could have clung to the back of the ghost, or gripped onto one of the wings while we rode back to the station, but oh, no! You had to leave the ghost and investigate with me!" _The warrior turned and stormed off down the rocky path with a huff, leaving the storm elite to stand there confused.

"I_ left the ghost?" _asked the storm elite as it quickened its steps to catch up with the warrior. _"What about you? You were the first one to go investigate the crash! I merely followed because it's the Infantry's duty to go ahead of the higher officer!"_

_"Oh, is it now?" _said the warrior as he stopped and turned his underling. _"Then how about _you_ lead us to civilization, hmm?" _he said with a cross of his arms.

The storm Elite looked surprised as he paused and turned, looking back and forth. He glanced down at his Covenant Carbine and Zoomed in, acting as if he was actually looking at something before he began walking in said direction. _"This way should take us to Command!"_

The Warrior groaned as he looked at the Sangheili. _"Command's to the East. That's West."_

_"I knew that!" _spoke the Storm Elite as he turned on his heels and trotted past the Warrior. With a sigh, the Warrior merely followed Before he could jump down though and continue, he stopped and looked before him. _"Gallua, come take a look at this."_

The two Elites both rejoined to look at the piles of bodies

They both hopped down from the rocks and slowly travelled among the graveyard of their comrades. _"What happened here?"_ inquired the infantry.

_"They were attacked." _Responded Gallua as he hustled over to a fellow Warrior, who'd been shot with a clear headshot to the skull. _"Human weapons."_ He said as he knelt down and closed the still-open eyes of his fallen warrior. He then felt his skin gently, pausing as he tried to determine the time of death. _"Still warm…" _The Warrior stood up and did a small jog towards the entrance, reaching the open doors and peeking inside the eerily silent structure.

_"Gallua?"_ asked the Storm Elite as he walked in behind him, grasping a Human DMR in his hand and holding it out to the officer before him.

Gallua turned to Nu'gal, taking a look at the weapon. _"Human Carbine…" _He snatched the weapon and held it in his hands, aiming down the hall and peering into the scope. It felt awkward, holding such a strange weapon in his hand, and it was slightly uncomfortable. He never understood how they used these weapons daily, and still managed to beat plenty of their kind. Perhaps it was all in the kind of bullet that was used. _"You know what that means…"_

Nu'gal paused and thought to himself on the subject. A Human weapon, tons of his comrades dead, and an abandoned base. His mandibles opened as he got the idea. _"Oh, that means humans were here!"_

Gallua sighed as he dropped the weapon, turning to the Elite Infantry behind him. _"That was a… Rhetorical quest-You don't answer rhetorical questions, Nu'gal!"_

The Lower Elite paused as he nodded. _"Oh, right. Sorry." _He said before going quiet and looking around. _"So, what now?" _he asked as he tilted back and forth on his legs.

With a groan, the warrior turned down a hall and began walking. _"You know what we were doing before? Try and find a means of transport back to command! It'll be easier if we have vehicles!"_

Nu'gal stood completely still, like a Grunt caught in the Headlights as he looked at Gallua._"But… alone?..."_

_"Yes, alone!" _spoke the Warrior with a frown as he turned to the frozen partner of his. _"We'll cover more ground that way. What's wrong? scared of being on your own in an empty base?"_

_"Not in an Empty base, of course not! I'm scared of being in a base that we have no idea what's inside of. Who knows what kind of things are here since it was abandoned."_

_"First of all," _explained the Warrior with another groan as he walked back to the Storm Elite. _"It wasn't abandoned. They were killed. The base is empty. Let's go."_

_"Are you sure it's empty?"_

"Yes_, now split up and look for transport."_

Gallua walked a few steps forward, hearing a second pair of footsteps that didn't leave his side.

_"Oh, for journey's sake, _stop following me!"

**(A.N:** Boo-yah! My Longest Chapter to date, and what a turn of events! Lelouch is lying about who his teammates actually are, but is that to cover his tracks, or theirs? Our Two Elites make another humorous appearance again, and the plot thickens! I don't feel that this is my best work, but I wrote half of this early in the morning, and I'd rather not re-write it again. I might re-write it later, when I hope to improve it, but until then, here it is. Now, time for "Author Answers!"

Sevenar: Thank you for the reviews! As for why they didn't bring their Knightmare frames with them, it takes a bit of the logic of Lloyd Asplund to understand. Earlier in the story, it says that they discovered a planet with an atmosphere that was relative to Earth's, and might be suitable for colonization. The only problem was the transport; the Slipspace wormhole that lead to the place was able to transport living material, but they had to construct special non-living material for clothes and supplies to be transported through the wormhole. It would have taken longer to reconstruct the plating for the Knightmare Frames to be transported. As for Lelouch's age, he's Nineteen, still. I haven't mentioned that yet, but just to clear the air, It's not a spoiler or anything, just an age.

AXL999: Right now.

Anyways, that's the questions that were asked, and I've responded to them. I hope you guys can wait, but it's taking a bit longer for me to write. I _do_ promise that I will finish this story though, you can count on that!

But until next time, I must bid you _adieu!_ I'll see you guys with my next chapter!**)**


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